VA Will Not Pay For Service Dogs
I am a very big supporter of service dogs, in fact I carry the ADA regulations for service dogs in my bag in case I’m at an establishment that gives people any grief.
Recently on NPR, there was a story about the VA acknowledging that service dogs help in dealing with PTSD but they refuse to pay for the cost of the highly trained dogs. It appears that there have not been any substantial studies conducted to back up the cost/benefit ratio. A service dog costs about $30,000. Interestingly enough, I believe a police K9 is also around the same price. So I estimate a $2500 per year cost to the VA for each dog. Dogs would help with physical disabilities as well as hypervigilance. I would say hypervigilance and trauma triggers would be the most common and most under-served symptoms of PTSD.
I am not sure what the VA or the federal government defines as assisting veterans when all they seem to do is over-medicate their clients or leave their files in a sort of limbo until the individual dies from the effects of service or homelessness or mental illness. I used to want to work for the VA but then I would just be contributing to the wasteful spending of professionals versus the funding of services. Supplying people in debt from college to serve people who are in our debts.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/01/04/461529833/veterans-say-trained-dogs-help-with-ptsd-but-the-va-wont-pay