FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

Veterans Affairs Department Wont Fund Service Dogs for Soldiers With PTSD
Billy Crowe

FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

Abstract
PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying
event. Soldiers commonly return home with this illness and have significant
difficulty readjusting to their normal social lives. Military qualified service dogs are
specially trained to ease their handlers stress and are the most effective resource
in combating PTSD patients. The Department of Veterans Affairs is a
government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status.
However, they dont provide coverage for those who sustain mental injuries like
PTSD. The VA only covers physical injuries and blames the rest on the budget
reductions. PTSD is a serious problem and is the most common wound found in
soldiers. Veterans risk their lives to save ours now its our turn to save them and a
service dog doesnt seem like much.

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Veterans Affairs Department Wont Fund Service Dogs for Soldiers With PTSD
Alger, Ellen & Simpson, Kevin. (2012). U.S. Medical Department Journal.
Reclaiming Identity Through Service to Dogs in Need. Retrieved from
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=a432c6c7-618b-411ab04a6aea9fb8b8af
%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdG
U9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=79808392&db=a9h
Ellen Alers, and Kevin Simpsons informative and scholarly article provides
their audience with a more traditional and professional look on the topic of canine
reinforcement training. Their article details Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center (WRNMMC) and how it creates ways for animals and people in need to
help one another. The program is broken up into three tiers of increasing difficulty
and time commitment to canine training and understanding. The point of the

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program is to give veterans a chance to interact, build relationships with, and
learn more about training the dog they are paired with. All of the research claims
are documented and copyrighted though the works cited is missing. Simpson and
Alers document contains no graphs but does include some textual statistics to
keep their argument credible and less bias. Their main claim is that the program
is extremely effective provides the quality training needed by both the vet and
his/her animal.
Simpson and Alers document is very long and provides a professional
abstract to state their main ideas. They include in text references to several major
organizations including KONG Company, and the Washington Humane Society
(Alers & Simpson, 2012). To further build their credibility Alers and Simpson state
that their organization Has trained over 40 Soldiers and helped approximately 75
dogs into new homes. The intended audience is soldiers and families that want
to relieve long-term stress for zero cost to them. There is relatively no bias in
Simpson ad Alers article because they are simply stating facts about their
organization and do not come off as cocky or braggy. The professional and
formal layout of the document suggests that is credible. Aler and Simpsons
information in their document is up to date except maybe a few of their stats.

FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

Though the numbers would have increased based on the number of people they
have now helped so the time differential does not have an impact on the article.
Brian Gregg and William Beaumont. (2012). Army Medical Department Journal.
Crossing the Berm, An Occupational Therapists Perspective on AnimalAssisted Therapy In a Deployed Environment. Retrieved from
https://habricentral.org/ resources/692/download/gregg-aat_deployed.pdf
CPT Brian Gregg is the Chief of Occupational Therapy of the Army. He
entertains and informs his audience by giving a brief overview of his time helping
his fellow soldiers he was assigned to treat. Gregg received training with the
Armys Combat and Operational Stress Control Course or (COSC). He then talks
about a tan Labrador names Albert that was donated and assigned to him. By the
end Gregg states that his experiences in (AAT) Animal Assisted Therapy has
opened his eyes and he learned how powerful the mental connection between
man and dog. Greggs article looks professional and is of credible length. He
lacks a works cited page but references a few sites he drew from. All of Greggs
conclusions are backed up by evidence he has provided based on his own
experiences.

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Greggs credibility is hard to dispute though he could have used some
other research or statistics to complete his work. He seems to use excessive
pathos and logos to make up for his lack of ethos. His intended audience is
therapeutic doctors that he may want to persuade to try Animal Assisted Therapy
or veterans with PTSD that may not know about AAT and its effectiveness. To be
persuasive Gregg states, I highly recommend the use of animal-assisted therapy
as a treatment modality for combat and operational stress control detachments.
There are traces of bias in Greggs article but that is because he is talking about
his own experiences and that is to be expected. His information is detailed,
concise, and believable, which makes him a credible source. His article was
published in 2012 so he is still current and accurate.
Greggs article provides my viewpoint with a personal yet credible piece
that my other sources do not. He is the only one that does not suffer from PTSD
and works with people that live with it. I incorporated his article because it is
relevant to my topic and I can use it to bolster my credibility as well as tell a bit of
non-fictional narrative. Gregg is also my only source that rests more on the
entertaining side of writing which will keep my audience engaged and give them
some context to connect with my argument. His writing did not change the way I

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think about my topic but he enhanced the scope of the direction I see my topic
building upon.

Kime, Patricia. (2015). Military Times. $70 Million to be Invested in

66666Veterans Mental Health [Article]. Retrieved from
66666http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/06/17/veterans99999mentalhealth-wounded-warrior-project-70million/28824099/
The online article $70M to be invested in veterans' mental health written
by Staff Writer Patricia Kime of the Military Times informs her readers the
Wounded Warrior Project will be funding $70 million to four of the nations top
medical facilities. These facilities will be creating outpatient programs designed to
help sufferers of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and TBI (Traumatic Brain
Injury). The information in Kimes article is solely factual and informative. Her
main argument is that VA will not provide funding for PTSD and TBI care so the
people must do it, and they raised $70 million. Kime provides sources like
Wounded Warrior Project Chief Program Officer Jeremy Chwat to back up her
argument.
Kimes article is very credible because of her powerful sources. Jeremy

FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

Chwat states, Some warriors won't go to VA. Kimes audience is extremely
broad and active because of the vast amount of people engaged in the WWP
program. Her primary audience is people that contributed to the fund and those
that work with VA. Kime is basically saying that soldiers dont need to rely on VA
because WWP can offer better benefits. Her information is not biased because
she has nothing to do with the article topic on a personal or emotional level. She
is entirely neutral. Kimes article is also very current since it was published in
2015.
Kimes article is one of my strongest because she describes most bluntly
how the soldiers have better options than the government. The people know that
the soldiers are fighting for them and they are ready to return the gesture. The VA
I guess isnt ready to accept that. Kimes argument will build my own by giving me
credibility and a new perspective ion the topic. Her article definitely changed the
way I look at the topic. Her article gave me the perspective that people are ready
to take stand to stomp out PTSD.
Rossitch, Michelle. (2012). NBC News. VA Won't Cover Costs of Service Dogs

FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

Assigned for PTSD Treatment. Retrieved from http://usnews.
nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/06/13708645-va-wont-cover-costs-ofservice-dogs-assigned-for-ptsd-treatment
In Michelle Rossitchs article VA Won't Cover Costs of Service Dogs
Assigned for PTSD Treatment she discusses the point that the Department of
Veterans Affairs made to not fund mental disabilities. Rossitchs argument is to
inform and persuade her audience to show them how unacceptable this decision
is. She provides quotations of victims that suffer from PTSD to display their
emotions and how the VAs decision is going to really hurt the patients health.
Later on Rossitch states how the service dogs are proven to be affective in
fighting the effects of PTSD.
Rossitch is a writer for NBC News, a very credible news station and her
intended audience is people who know the pain of PTSD and those that agree
with her viewpoint that the VAs decision is a terrible one. Her article is biased
though she states facts and quotations to boost her credibility. She provides more
detailed information than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website like
Dogs can be trained to help avert panic attacks and wake them up as they enter
a nightmare. The animals can be taught to remind veterans to take medications

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and alert them if they have left a burner lit on the stove (Rossitch, 2012). All of
her information is up to date and is still current today.
Michelle Rossitchs article is the most relatable to my topic because she
shared my viewpoint. Her article shapes mine by going into detail about why the
VA decision is not a good one and how it will negatively affect thousands of
soldiers that suffer from PTSD. Her argument has shown me that the government
cannot always be trusted to make good decisions and they need to change them
when they are this wrong. Millions of people have said how they feel about the
decision and the comments are not good.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2015). Rehabilitation and Prosthetic

Services. http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ServiceAndGuideDogs.asp
The Department of Veterans Affairs website tab " Rehabilitation and
Prosthetic Services," describes what service dogs, what people have to do to get
one, and the benefits they provide. The article informs people of the services they
can provide if that person meets the required specific criteria. Veterans Affairs
intentions are to try and paint themselves in the best light from a marketing
standpoint. The information provided on the Veterans Affairs website is factual
and credible but there is little substance to what they say. There is no main claim

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since the article is purely factual information but VA does make the difference
between guide dogs and service dogs and describes both. Some unique features
of the VA article are that it uses well-positioned images to show exactly what the
dogs are capable of doing, the main ideas are easy to find and the site is credited
by the government so all the information is extremely accurate and updated.
Being only about a page and a half, Veterans Affairs could add some more detail
about the topic but they do so in other tabs, this source is primarily for basic
information on the topics of guide, and service dogs, not PTSD. The VA does not
cite its sources but documents related sources on the topic. There are no graphs
or statistics present though the article does state many factual phrases that build
the Veterans Affairs credibility. All research and conclusions are documented and
quantified in other pages on the website which makes their site more clean and
increases its ease of use.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is credible because they
are a government website and must put forth truthful information by law. The
intended audience of their website is soldiers and people that are seeking help
for a disability they have. The information in the article Rehabilitation and
Prosthetic Services is reliable however there is bias in the way they market their
services, like how they perfectly pair Veterans with working service dogs [and]

FUNDING SERVICE DOGS

are provided veterinary care and equipment through VA Prosthetics and Sensory
Aids. Otherwise, all of their information is trustworthy and factual. All of the
evidence is up to date with the current year and updated whenever there are
changes of new evidence.
Overall, the VAs source Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Services is the
most reliable in my bibliography; it does not have the most detailed or relative
information to my topic. I chose to include this source in my bibliography to detail
how little the government details why they wont fund service dogs to the surplus
of people that need them. This source has shown me that VA doesnt want to
fund mental patients because they know that it will cost them more money but
they must deal with the biggest problems first which I believe is PTSD.