Veterans Need Service Dogs — And Nobody is Paying for It
Hey Pack, Kodiak here. 🐾
I need to talk about something that has me very fired up today.
Veterans with PTSD Need Service Dogs. The Government Won’t Pay for It.
Here’s something that makes absolutely no sense to me. With all the stuff the human government blows money on, they refuse to fully pay for service dogs for the people who literally put their lives on the line so that government can even exist — like when I barked at a bee that was flying too close to my dad’s head.
There are veterans who served this country and came home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD. It’s real. It’s serious. And it can be absolutely devastating.
Service dogs help. Not a little. A lot. Studies show that veterans paired with PTSD service dogs experience significant reductions in anxiety, depression, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts. These dogs wake their veterans up from bad dreams. They create space in public so their veterans don’t feel surrounded. They provide grounding during flashbacks. They are life-changing companions who also happen to be working professionals.
A trained PTSD service dog costs between $20,000 and $30,000.
The government does not cover this cost for veterans.
Let me say that again. The people who risked everything for this country cannot get a service dog covered under their veterans benefits. They have to fundraise, apply to nonprofits, wait on waitlists that stretch years long, or just go without — but the government can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on programs that teach basket weaving in outer Mongolia (I’m not sure if this is true, I just heard my dad yell that when I showed him the draft of this blog).
This is so Jacked Up I don’t have words for it. Makes me want to pee on someone’s leg.
What They WILL Spend Money On
You know what the government does spend money on? Paying lifeguards to walk up and down perfectly nice beaches telling good dogs to leave.
I’m going to be very clear about something: I live by the beach. I have been to the beach about a billion times. I am an excellent beach dog. I do not bother anyone. I swim in the waves. I run on the sand. I make people smile. And yet there are beaches where I am not allowed — and actual trained lifeguards, whose job is to GUARD LIVES, are assigned to enforce dog bans.
This is not what lifeguards went to school for. They learned CPR and rescue swimming and how to spot someone in distress from a hundred yards away. And they are being used as dog police.
Meanwhile — a veteran who served three tours overseas can’t get a service dog because nobody will pay for it.
I find this unacceptable.
My Position on Beaches
All beaches should be dog beaches. Every single one. If you want a non-dog section, fine — have a small designated area for weird people who don’t want dogs nearby. But the default should be that dogs are welcome. Not the other way around.
Lifeguards should be watching the water. Not enforcing dog bans.
What You Can Do Right Now
If this has you fired up too — good. Here’s how to help:
K9s For Warriors rescues shelter dogs and trains them as service dogs for veterans with PTSD, TBI, and military sexual trauma. They provide the dogs at no cost to the veteran. Every dollar donated goes toward getting a dog to a veteran who needs one.
Paws of War places service dogs with veterans and first responders — also at no cost to the recipient. They also help veterans in other countries who served alongside American troops.
America’s VetDogs trains and places guide and service dogs for veterans and active military members, including PTSD service dogs.
Even a small donation helps move a dog from training to a veteran who needs them. These organizations do the work the government won’t.
Also, vote for Kodiak for president. I will make all beaches dog beaches and require every airline to have designated “dog flights.”
The Bottom Line
Veterans served us. Service dogs serve veterans. The least we can do is make sure those dogs get funded.
And also fix the beach thing. I feel very strongly about the beach thing.
🐾 Thank you for helping,
— Kodiak
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