Service Dogs for Vets

I do not, and like anything else, I’m sure the program is very much taken advantage of.

I do not know any vets who have service dogs.

Now if you want to discuss 100% disability ratings, there's plenty to talk about.

I am a vet. I know a few vets with service dogs. My assessment is most are complete bullshite. Also, if you are so fricked up you need a dog to walk into target, you don't need to be outside the house.

Devil, first let me say thank you for your service. I can’t imagine what you or any other vet endured for our country. My point is that you can’t expect every other veteran to approach life the way you do. PTSD hits everyone different. For one former soldier, it can be so bad that he has flashbacks walking into Target thinking that the enemy is waiting behind the doors. Maybe his dog gives him a sense of peace and comfort from debilitating flashbacks like that.

got to go with devil on this one

I know Patriot Paws used to be a good organization. Not sure if they are still around. I think they were based out of Texas somewhere. If I remember right, they donated 80% to vets and 20% to non-vets. There was a guy locally that benefited from that non-vet portion and tried to give the dog back once he learned a few years later that 100% were going to go to vets instead of the 80%. Patriot Paws was really cool about it and told him to keep the dog (he was paraplegic and really needed the dog). He ended up becoming a pretty good fundraiser for them.

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Do you have one?

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Yes.

I'm sure there are veterans who have them and don't need them, and veterans who need them and don't have them. I care way more about the latter.

If you feel like you'd benefit from getting a service dog, do it and ignore the idiots who don't know the first thing about it.

My dog is more likely to kill me by tripping me or knocking me over than save me.

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I don't because you can either receive a dog or certify your personal dog. At my current dog's age I didn't want to subject her or me to the potential stressful training, although both parties are to be present. I've got poc's in that field who've shared a few things that practically allowed me to teach her some things on my own. (Without certification of course). I.E That's not as important to me as just getting the help I need.

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My daughter has a service animal and is a dog trainer.

There is no certification for service dogs. You can only be asked what two tasks is the dog trained to perform. No documentation is needed nor is there any available. No entity certifies service animals. Not saying that there arent some that say they certify them, but the law does not address certification.

Yes, I know this leads to abuse of the system and I think there should be a certification program, but then again who do we want to do that and how much will it cost?

I don't have one. What has helped me the most was telling my wife a couple of months ago something that I did while in Iraq during Desert Storm. I held it in for a long time. Biggest thing to me is that returning vets need to not be judged for the actions, and be willing to speak about it.