Paws for Patriots

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This is a good story, bookended by two not-so-good stories. But the good first.

September's VFW magazine features a story on several programs providing assistance canines for vets ("Vets Show Dogged Determination"). The dogs help these veterans accomplish myriad tasks, from pulling their wheelchairs to picking up items and steadying amputees rising from chairs or negotiating stairs.

They also serve an ancillary function in helping their owners cope with the often debilitating effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The worthy programs discussed in the article are The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, supplying service dogs to vets since its establishment in 1946; Paws for Patriots program, sponsored by Palmetto, Fla.-based Southeastern Guide Dogs; VetDogs, a sister program to the Guide Dog Foundations formed in response to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Canines for Combat Veterans, under the aegis of the New England Assistance Dog Services (NEADS) and the East Coast Assistance Dogs (ECAD), a training facility for the Pet Assisted Learning Services (PALS) program.

In these nonprofit programs, the dogs are trained by various populations running the gamut from at-risk teens to penitentiary inmates. As example:

"Canines for Combat Veterans dovetails with another NEADS program Prison PUP Partnership. Inmates at various institutions in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island care for and teach prospective guide dogs for one year. This cooperative arrangement accelerates the training process, reduces costs and enhances self-esteem among prisoners."

One of the guide dog recipients, Michael Jernigan, of St. Petersburg, Fla., will be discussing his experience in an HBO documentary scheduled for broadcast September 9, "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq."

In 2001, "the VA began reimbursing vets for certain guide dog-related expenses such as veterinarian's bills, travel costs during the initial training period and harnesses." But the coverage is not all-inclusive. If the government were to cover the actual expense of the provision of a guide dog, the tab would run from between $16,000-$40,000.

"Many service organizations. . . raise monies and donate them to guide dog organizations. But federal payouts would eliminate fundraising efforts, speed up the process and increase the number of canine-vet matches."

So the not-so-good part of the story: The government gets by on the cheap once again, not anticipating the needs of all combat-injured veterans and relying on volunteer organizations to pick up the slack.

The other bookend, you know.

--Lisa