Slotkin: PAWS Act addresses VA concerns
Service dogs helping in veteran treatment
Having a service dog makes it difficult for Shane Brown to be depressed.
Depression is a symptom the former Navy corpsman suffers, along with post-traumatic stress disorder and nightmares, because of his military service from 2009 to 2018.
“I really do think the service dogs help,” said Brown, 30, who lives in Belleville.
He has had a service dog, a female pit mix named Berret, that he started training with in April and has had at his home since November. The dog helps him wake up from nightmares, picks up things he drops, and helps him manage being in crowds.
“On my normal days with depression, I wouldn’t get out of bed or wouldn’t shower. But having a service dog with me, it forces me to get up and take care of her,” Brown said. “She’s helped me mentally and physically.”
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, attended an event Monday at Blue Star Service Dogs in Pinckney to interact with, and learn more about the organization’s leadership, its members and their dogs.
Slotkin and Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, Ohio, introduced in September H.R. 4305, the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act.
The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act will create a pilot program within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to give veterans access to treatment from service dogs, according to a news release from Slotkin’s office. Over a five-year period, it would assess the effectiveness of service dogs on veterans with PTSD.
The federal Congressional Budget Office has not received a cost estimate for the bill yet.
Slotkin and Stivers are working to obtain a supermajority of support for the bill.
A supermajority means that if 290 U.S.
House of Representatives members co-sponsor the bill, it will bypass the committee process and head straight to the House floor for a vote. If it is passed, it would then head to the Senate for a vote.
More than 180 co-sponsors have been obtained as of Monday, Slotkin said.
“We want this to become part of the normal pathways for therapy for veterans,” Slotkin said.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is skeptical about a service dog’s ability to help veterans with PTSD.
“Currently, there is not enough research to know if dogs help treat PTSD and its symptoms,” a statement on the VA’s website reads.
“Evidence-based therapies and medications for PTSD are supported by clinical research. We encourage you to learn more about these treatments because it is difficult to draw strong conclusions from the few studies on dogs and PTSD that have been done.”
Slotkin said the proposed bill addresses the VA’s concerns because of the data it would collect.
“It is literally addressing their concerns that there isn’t data to prove that dogs paired with veterans is a good investment,” Slotkin said. The VA should do more studies, Brown said. “I think this will benefit all veterans if the VA will help them get service dogs,” he said.