I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5918 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program on service dog 

training for members of the Armed Forces with post-traumatic stress 

disorder or other post-deployment mental health conditions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2018 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER (for herself, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. WALZ, 

and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program 

on service dog training for members of the Armed Forces 

with post-traumatic stress disorder or other post-deployment mental health conditions. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Defense 

5 Service Dog Training Therapy Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SERVICE DOG TRAINING THERAPY FOR MEMBERS 

2 WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 

3 OR OTHER POST-DEPLOYMENT MENTAL 

4 HEALTH CONDITIONS. 

5 (a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 

6 through the Director of the Defense Health Agency, shall 

7 carry out a program under which members of the Armed 

8 Forces with post-traumatic stress disorder or other post9 deployment mental health conditions train service dogs for 

10 veterans with disabilities. The Secretary shall carry out 

11 the program in a manner that ensures that such training 

12 is a form of therapy that addresses such post-traumatic 

13 stress disorder or other post-deployment mental health 

14 conditions. 

15 (b) APPROPRIATE NONGOVERNMENT ENTITIES.— 

16 The Secretary shall carry out the program under sub17 section (a) by entering into a contract with one or more 

18 appropriate nongovernment entities that are certified in 

19 the training and handling of service dogs and have experi20 ence carrying out such a program. 

21 (c) MEMBER ELIGIBILITY.—A member of the Armed 

22 Forces may participate in the program under subsection 

23 (a) if the Secretary determines that— 

24 (1) such member has post-traumatic stress dis25 order or other post-deployment mental health condi26 tions; and 


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1 (2) there are adequate program resources avail2 able for the member to participate at the location of 

3 the member. 

4 (d) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall seek to enter 

5 into a contract under subsection (b) with appropriate non6 government entities located in close proximity to military 

7 medical treatment facilities. 

8 (e) TRAINING AREA.—The Secretary shall provide to 

9 a nongovernment entity with which the Secretary enters 

10 into a contract under subsection (b) access to a training 

11 area in a facility of the Department that would be appro12 priate for use in educating members of the Armed Forces 

13 participating in the program in the art and science of serv14 ice dog training and handling. Such training area shall— 

15 (1) include a dedicated space that is suitable 

16 for grooming and training dogs indoors; 

17 (2) be wheelchair accessible; 

18 (3) include classroom or lecture space; 

19 (4) include office space for staff; 

20 (5) include a suitable space for storing training 

21 equipment; 

22 (6) provide for periodic use of other training 

23 areas for training the dogs with wheelchairs and 

24 conducting other exercises; 


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1 (7) include outdoor exercise and toileting space 

2 for dogs; and 

3 (8) provide transportation for weekly field trips 

4 to train dogs in other environments. 

5 (f) DESIGN OF PROGRAM.—Each contract entered 

6 into under subsection (b) shall provide that the nongovern7 ment entity shall— 

8 (1) employ at least one person with clinical ex9 perience related to mental health; 

10 (2) ensure that members of the Armed Forces 

11 participating in the program receive training from 

12 certified service dog training instructors; 

13 (3) ensure that each service dog in training 

14 participating in the program is taught all essential 

15 commands pertaining to service dog skills; 

16 (4) ensure that the program involves both lec17 ture of service dog training methodologies and prac18 tical hands-on training and grooming of service 

19 dogs; and 

20 (5) ensure that the program is designed to— 

21 (A) maximize the therapeutic benefits to 

22 members of the Armed Forces participating in 

23 the program; and 

24 (B) provide well-trained service dogs to 

25 veterans with disabilities. 


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1 (g) ADMINISTRATION.—In order to carry out the pro2 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) administer the program through the De4 fense Health Agency under the direction of a cer5 tified occupational recreational therapist with suffi6 cient administrative experience to help oversee the 

7 program; and 

8 (2) establish a director of therapeutic service 

9 dog training with a background working in social 

10 services, experience in teaching others to train serv11 ice dogs in a military medical treatment facility set12 ting, and at least one year of experience working 

13 with veterans or active duty service members with 

14 post-traumatic stress disorder in a clinical setting. 

15 (h) COLLECTION OF DATA.—The Secretary shall col16 lect data on the program under subsection (a) to deter17 mine how effective the program is for the members of the 

18 Armed Forces participating in the program. Such data 

19 shall include data to determine how effectively the pro20 gram assists members in— 

21 (1) reducing stigma associated with post-trau22 matic stress disorder or other post-deployment men23 tal health conditions; 

24 (2) improving emotional regulation; 

25 (3) improving patience; 


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1 (4) instilling or re-establishing a sense of pur2 pose; 

3 (5) providing an opportunity to help veterans; 

4 (6) reintegrating into the community; 

5 (7) exposing the dog to new environments and 

6 in doing so, helping the member reduce social isola7 tion and withdrawal; 

8 (8) building relationship skills, including par9 enting skills; 

10 (9) relaxing the hyper-vigilant survival state; 

11 (10) improving sleep patterns; and 

12 (11) enabling members to decrease the use of 

13 pain medication. 

14 (i) REPORTS.—Each year the Secretary shall submit 

15 to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of 

16 Representatives and the Senate a report on the program 

17 under subsection (a). Each such report shall include— 

18 (1) the number of members of the Armed 

19 Forces participating in the program; 

20 (2) a description of the services carried out 

21 under the program; 

22 (3) the effects that participating in the program 

23 has on— 

24 (A) symptoms of post-traumatic stress dis25 order and post-deployment adjustment difficulVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Jun 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5918.IH H5918

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1 ties, including depression, maintenance of sobri2 ety, suicidal ideations, and homelessness; 

3 (B) potentially relevant physiological mark4 ers that possibly relate to the interactions with 

5 the service dogs; 

6 (C) family dynamics; 

7 (D) insomnia and pain management; and 

8 (E) overall well-being; and 

9 (4) the recommendations of the Secretary with 

10 respect to the expansion of the program. 

11 (j) SERVICE DOG TRAINING INSTRUCTOR DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘service dog training 

13 instructor’’ means an instructor who provides the direct 

14 training of members of the Armed Forces with post-trau15 matic stress disorder and other post-deployment mental 

16 health conditions in the art and science of service dog 

17 training and handling. 

Æ 


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