PDA

View Full Version : APP - After 8-year delay, VA program hopes to help vets



uscitizen
09-05-2009, 10:05 PM
Sep 5, 1:19 PM EDT

After 8-year delay, VA program hopes to help vets

By ARELIS HERNANDEZ
Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) -- The drone of helicopters still haunts William Callahan decades after Vietnam combat left him paralyzed, but he said government bureaucracy stood in the way of getting the one thing that made the echoes stop and kept him independent: a service dog.

It took four years and giving up on a Veteran's Affairs canine program for Callahan to find Taylor, a specially trained Labrador retriever.

Although the canine program's Web site touts that it "routinely" gives veterans service dogs, the program's director Neil Eckrich said only two dogs have been paired with veterans since Congress authorized the program in 2001. Eckrich acknowledged there were difficulties with the program, including the time it took to conduct studies on the dogs' benefits and problems promoting the service.

Finally, about eight years after the program began, many hope it will start finding homes for the four-legged companions that can help disabled veterans be more independent, better deal with post traumatic stress syndrome and to just be a friend. The VA is now working on improving the program and in Washington, increasing funding for such programs is getting bipartisan support.

Callahan, 63, began trying to find a service dog in 2004, and his local VA office said the program didn't exist - even though that wasn't true. He eventually turned to one of the more than two dozen nonprofit groups in the U.S. that train dogs for injured veterans.

Paralyzed from the waist down and facing the diminishing use of his arms and hands, Callahan said he needed assistance picking up items from the floor and someone to seek help in emergencies.

He credits Taylor for enabling him to stay in his Houston-area home and calming him when images from the war flash through his mind.

"He is the only friend I have that I know for sure loves and protects me," Callahan said, leaning in to kiss Taylor. "Sometimes I wonder whether I'm giving enough to him for all he gives me."

Several disabled veterans said they too ran into walls and misinformation when looking for help to get a service dog. Some said phone calls were never returned and local VA offices ignored their repeated inquiries.

"I was told they would not fund a dog, they had never refunded a service dog and were unwilling to make my case," Robert Schwartz said of his conversation with his VA office in 2005.

Schwartz, 68, broke his back in Vietnam and was paralyzed from the waist down. After his wife died, he said an assistance dog was the only thing that kept him out of a nursing home. Living on Kelleys Island, Ohio in Lake Erie he also was looking for a dog that could help him on his boat.

Congress authorized but did not require the VA to provide service dogs as part of a 2001 law that enhanced veterans' health care. Money for the program was to come from the VA's general fund.

For nearly six years, the agency studied ways to provide the dogs but concluded that the lack of standards and research supporting the medical benefits were huge deterrents.

"We have to take into account the veteran's health, the dog's health and taxpayer money," Eckrich said. "There were no standards that apply to training, to the dogs and to the trainers."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SERVICE_DOGS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Thorn
09-05-2009, 10:08 PM
Very often the preliminary training, somewhat beyond the basic household stuff, is done by volunteers, for free, for the first year of the dog's life. To me this is a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the person who trains that dog, and is one of the most unselfish things the person could ever do. After that year the dog goes to someone else in a different city for more specialized training.

uscitizen
09-05-2009, 10:12 PM
Very often the preliminary training, somewhat beyond the basic household stuff, is done by volunteers, for free, for the first year of the dog's life. To me this is a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the person who trains that dog, and is one of the most unselfish things the person could ever do. After that year the dog goes to someone else in a different city for more specialized training.

I can understand this. You get attached and have to give them up. Not easy at all.

I do have 3 Vets I work with that are very interested in this program though.
I am sure it will be a topic of discussion at my gathering on Monday.

FUCK THE POLICE
09-05-2009, 10:14 PM
Very often the preliminary training, somewhat beyond the basic household stuff, is done by volunteers, for free, for the first year of the dog's life. To me this is a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the person who trains that dog, and is one of the most unselfish things the person could ever do. After that year the dog goes to someone else in a different city for more specialized training.

I listened to a Fresh Air the other day that talked about how they were utilizing prisoners in some cases. Prisoners would probably rather have something to love than to sit in their cell all day staring at walls, and I assume the program takes on the financial burden of feeding him/her.

FUCK THE POLICE
09-05-2009, 10:15 PM
http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/

Here it is. Not a very well named program, but whatever.

uscitizen
09-05-2009, 10:32 PM
I listened to a Fresh Air the other day that talked about how they were utilizing prisoners in some cases. Prisoners would probably rather have something to love than to sit in their cell all day staring at walls, and I assume the program takes on the financial burden of feeding him/her.

I saw a show on PBS where prisoners were taking care of Race horses let out to pasture. A very good program. Animals bring out the best in humans.

uscitizen
09-05-2009, 10:33 PM
http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/

Here it is. Not a very well named program, but whatever.

LOL, yeah the name sucks.

PostmodernProphet
09-06-2009, 04:34 AM
Very often the preliminary training, somewhat beyond the basic household stuff, is done by volunteers, for free, for the first year of the dog's life. To me this is a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the person who trains that dog, and is one of the most unselfish things the person could ever do. After that year the dog goes to someone else in a different city for more specialized training.

there must be someone near me who does that, because I see dogs quite often.....they wear a sign that says "I am being trained" and people walk them up and down the aisles in grocery stores......

/MSG/
09-06-2009, 04:46 AM
I'd like to see more information on how a dog can help with PTSD. Anyone have anything?

PostmodernProphet
09-06-2009, 04:59 AM
found this...
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/01/29/dogs.veterans/index.html


"I never took a pill for PTSD that did as much for me as Cody has done," says the Billerica, Massachusetts, resident, who no longer takes medication for the disorder.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=28873&cn=109

uscitizen
09-06-2009, 11:44 AM
I'd like to see more information on how a dog can help with PTSD. Anyone have anything?

A good pet can help with lots of mental issues.

FUCK THE POLICE
09-06-2009, 10:47 PM
I'd like to see more information on how a dog can help with PTSD. Anyone have anything?

They can be trained to call 911 when the vets seize up in fear on the floor. That's just one example of how amazingly specific they can train these dogs; I don't remember much from the Fresh Air show though.

Thorn
09-07-2009, 10:29 AM
Just having the right dog as a companion can make a huge difference for someone coping with a stress-related condition (or other conditions for that matter). It's been shown that petting a dog or cat has calming effects on respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure, for instance.

For you, Billy, I'd recommend that you look into possible getting a Golden Retriever or a Labrador Retriever. They have great temperaments and are intelligent without being over the top intense, though young ones can be quite energetic. They're often used as service dogs because of their temperament and intelligence. We have several in our Club, involved in various Competitive Obedience activities and Agility.

The one thing you want to be careful about, though, is that some lines of Goldens have a genetic predisposition to cancer. If you go that route, go with a reliable breeder and make sure, for instance, that the puppy's grandparents are still alive.

Good luck. A dog makes such a huge contribution to your life, especially when he or she is loved.

WinterBorn
09-08-2009, 08:03 AM
Its about damn time someone stood up and raised enough hell to get the vets what they need.


I have a friend who did the preliminary training for service dogs. She always had a rough time when she sent them on to the next phase of their training. She gets postcards from one of the people who has one of her "babies".

I echo Thorn's kudos for those selfless people.

/MSG/
09-10-2009, 09:20 AM
Thanks for the info. I'm not personally a dog person, more into cats. But I am glad that the VA is doing something like this to help.

Thorn
09-10-2009, 10:02 AM
Thanks for the info. I'm not personally a dog person, more into cats. But I am glad that the VA is doing something like this to help.

Cats are great too. There's nothing like a snuggle and a steady purring to make the world recede.

Cancel5
09-10-2009, 10:53 AM
Cats are great too. There's nothing like a snuggle and a steady purring to make the world recede.
Love 'em both, too!

charver
09-10-2009, 11:29 AM
Cats?

Have you people lost all grip on reality?

***turns skunk eye setting from "stun" to "kill"***

DamnYankee
09-10-2009, 11:34 AM
This looks like government health care rationing.

DamnYankee
09-10-2009, 11:35 AM
Cats?

Have you people lost all grip on reality?

***turns skunk eye setting from "stun" to "kill"*** You don't a little pussy now and then?

charver
09-10-2009, 11:42 AM
You don't a little pussy now and then?

The last time i stroked one it made a strange noise and left the most disgusting mess on the carpet.

egordon0315
09-10-2009, 11:52 AM
Cats?

Have you people lost all grip on reality?

***turns skunk eye setting from "stun" to "kill"***

Just about a year ago (well, exactly) I was in a coma in the intensive care unit after cancer surgery and a subsequent heart attack.

I finally came home and my three cats surrounded me in my bed for months. The comfort was healing.

So, what is your problem with cats?

charver
09-10-2009, 12:02 PM
Just about a year ago (well, exactly) I was in a coma in the intensive care unit after cancer surgery and a subsequent heart attack.

I finally came home and my three cats surrounded me in my bed for months. The comfort was healing.

So, what is your problem with cats?

The explanation is threefold.

1.They are innately evil.

2.They neither suit nor have the desire to adopt a hat of any sort.

3.They are the mortal enemy of the dog. We have our loyalties. Would you expect an Armenian to embrace a Turk and call him brother?

uscitizen
09-10-2009, 12:04 PM
Cats and dogs can be good friends if raised up together.

Maybe we should force all the arabs, jews, etc to send their kids to the same schools?

charver
09-10-2009, 12:09 PM
Cats and dogs can be good friends if raised up together.

Maybe we should force all the arabs, jews, etc to send their kids to the same schools?

I have studied a wide range of sources, foremost among them the works of the Warner Brothers, Mr W. Disney, both Hanna and Barbera, and i can categorically say that you are mistaken.

Whilst it may, at first glance, look as though brer cat and dog are co-existing in a state of amiability, or friendship even, the cat is at all times plotting and scheming to strike the trusting and noble dog on the head with an anvil or piano.

uscitizen
09-10-2009, 12:12 PM
I have studied a wide range of sources, foremost among them the works of the Warner Brothers, Mr W. Disney, both Hanna and Barbera, and i can categorically say that you are mistaken.

Whilst it may, at first glance, look as though brer cat and dog are co-existing in a state of amiability, or friendship even, the cat is at all times plotting and scheming to strike the trusting and noble dog on the head with an anvil or piano.

May be so, but we had cats and dogs that would take naps together when I was growing up and even fight intruders together.

Cancel5
09-10-2009, 12:12 PM
I have studied a wide range of sources, foremost among them the works of the Warner Brothers, Mr W. Disney, both Hanna and Barbera, and i can categorically say that you are mistaken.

Whilst it may, at first glance, look as though brer cat and dog are co-existing in a state of amiability, or friendship even, the cat is at all times plotting and scheming to strike the trusting and noble dog on the head with an anvil or piano.

Lexie, my terrier mix is always plotting to get Prince, the Bengal cat, and they were raised together. It seems to be more prevalent in some breeds of dogs and cats. The hunt and the chase. It is all in good fun with them, but with the two male cats who were raised together, it gets quite serious at times.

Cancel5
09-10-2009, 12:13 PM
Just about a year ago (well, exactly) I was in a coma in the intensive care unit after cancer surgery and a subsequent heart attack.

I finally came home and my three cats surrounded me in my bed for months. The comfort was healing.

So, what is your problem with cats?

It was the same with my old fat cat PT after all my surgeries! Aren't they wonderful.

uscitizen
09-10-2009, 12:15 PM
Lexie, my terrier mix is always plotting to get Prince, the Bengal cat, and they were raised together. It seems to be more prevalent in some breeds of dogs and cats. The hunt and the chase. It is all in good fun with them, but with the two male cats who were raised together, it gets quite serious at times.

Neutered males get along fine if raised together.
Works for humans too.

charver
09-10-2009, 12:21 PM
May be so, but we had cats and dogs that would take naps together when I was growing up and even fight intruders together.

Well, USC, times have changed.

Perhaps you have failed to notice the pervasiveness of feline crime families on the streets of America, bamboozling local police officers and the like?

Coincidence?

http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/pics/blofeld-cat.JPG

I think not.

uscitizen
09-10-2009, 12:25 PM
Well, USC, times have changed.

Perhaps you have failed to notice the pervasiveness of feline crime families on the streets of America, bamboozling local police officers and the like?

Coincidence?

http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/pics/blofeld-cat.JPG

I think not.

Persians are evil!
Darned Islamofascist cats.

Cancel 2016.2
09-10-2009, 01:01 PM
Love 'em both, too!

Cats SUCK... they should be eliminated from the face of the earth.

Cancel 2016.2
09-10-2009, 01:02 PM
The explanation is threefold.

1.They are innately evil.

2.They neither suit nor have the desire to adopt a hat of any sort.

3.They are the mortal enemy of the dog. We have our loyalties. Would you expect an Armenian to embrace a Turk and call him brother?

QFT!!!!