[NAGDU] Service Dog Registries To Streamline Travel For Veterans With 'Invisible Injuries'

[Ginger Kutsch]

FYI. The below story reports that two different groups are in the process of
creating two different service animal certification registries that would
provide veterans and active service members with the option of registering
their psychiatric service animals as a way to prove legitimacy and increase
ease of access in air travel -- and eventually, in all public places. It
appears that the two groups have neither collaborated with one another or
have any plans to do so in the near future. The two groups are:

1.       The American Humane Society and Assistance Dogs International, 

2. K9s for Warriors (a school that trains psychiatric service animals) and
the American Kennel Club.  

The article also mentions that, despite multiple attempts to get the
airlines to sign on to these registries, no progress has been made as yet.
Both programs, in the long term, hope to expand their registries to all
members of the service dog community.

 

Service Dog Registries To Streamline Travel For Veterans With 'Invisible
Injuries'

July 28, 2018 NPR.org

By Adelina Lancianese 

 URL:
https://www.npr.org/2018/07/28/633076559/service-dog-registries-to-streamlin
e-travel-for-veterans-with-invisible-injuries 

 

tired Army Sgt. Kevin Crowell boarded an American Airlines flight from Miami
to Key West with his wife and his psychiatric service dog Bella in April
2014. They were heading to a couples retreat sponsored by the Wounded
Warrior Project.

 

Crowell, who has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from an
explosion during his deployment to Iraq in 2004 and 2005, says he made sure
he properly documented the golden retriever over the phone, days ahead of
his trip.

 

But, Crowell says, gate agents denied him a seat in the bulkhead of the
plane, where Bella could sit comfortably in front of him, because "pets"
were not allowed there. And when Crowell got off the plane to explain his
situation, an airline representative petted Bella, which is strictly against
suggested service dog guidelines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retired Army Sgt. Kevin Crowell sits with Bella, his psychiatric service
dog.   

 

Courtesy of Kevin Crowell 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The situation triggered Crowell's PTSD, turning a relaxing vacation into a
"ginormous anxiety-producing disaster," according to the veteran. The family
missed their flight to Key West and drove six hours back home. Crowell later
sued American Airlines, and the Department of Transportation found that the
airline failed to sufficiently train its employees on how to accommodate
passengers with service animals.

 

"Bella has helped me through the hardest times in my life," Crowell says.
"But with her comes travel challenges. It's so stressful that my wife
refuses to travel with Bella anymore."

 

Crowell is not alone. Many veterans and active-duty service members use
psychiatric service dogs to help alleviate the everyday challenges of PTSD,
Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Sexual Trauma - conditions that service
dog advocates call "invisible injuries." Now, the service dog community is
eyeing a dog certification system to streamline travel and leisure for
veterans who, like Crowell, are frustrated with the arduous process and
stigmas attached to taking trips. 

 

 

Article continues after sponsorship

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court 

 

Politics 

 

A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court

   

"Their life is getting smaller"

 

Rory Diamond is the CEO of K9s For Warriors, a nonprofit organization that
bills itself as the largest provider of psychiatric service dogs for
veterans.

 

"Most of our graduates would rather not fly," he says of the veterans who
have passed through the K9s For Warriors pairing and training program. "We
realize that their life is getting smaller because of fake and poorly
trained service dogs and we want their life to be big. We want them to have
every opportunity."

 

Diamond is referring to controversy this year surrounding the influx of pets
boarding planes under the guise of emotional support or service animals.

 

The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act does not define emotional support animals,
creating an opportunity for enterprising passengers to pass off their
household pets as ESAs to avoid paying pet fees. Legislation introduced in
Congress in April would amend the ACAA with stricter definitions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Brenda J. Faulkner, an Army veteran and co-founder of The Truman
Foundation, sits with her service dog Truman. (Right) His vest includes
patches identifying him as a PTSD and disabled veteran service dog.   

 

Claire Harbage/NPR 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psychiatric service dogs are different. They perform tasks to interrupt
mental and emotional crises, such as waking their owners from nightmares,
distracting them from painful flashbacks, and making space in crowded areas.
And unlike emotional support animals, psychiatric service dogs are protected
under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Even still, the ADA does
not set a behavioral standard for service dogs, nor require any training.

 

"There's no real across-the-board standard for behavior or tasks for all
service dogs. And there's a number of reasons for that, one of which is that
there's so many types of service dogs," says Sheila Goffe, vice president of
government relations for the American Kennel Club. "But the concerns that a
lot of people have had ... is that we're seeing a lot of poorly trained
service dogs out there that can actually be a threat to public health."

 

"Zoo-like atmosphere"

 

In January, a viral photo of a woman trying to board a United Airlines
flight with an emotional support peacock prompted the carrier to tighten its
policies on emotional support animals. United says it has seen a 75 percent
increase in passengers boarding with ESAs, year after year.

 

American Airlines notes that in the last three years, three times as many
emotional support animals boarded its aircrafts - birds, sloths, kangaroos
and pigs among them - than service animals, according to a comment filed by
the carrier with the DOT.

 

American describes the "zoo-like atmosphere" of airplane cabins crowded with
emotional support animals, which are often registered online by for-profit
companies that provide neon "support animal" vests and paper certificates
for a fee.

 

"Lady with dog lying on the floor, comforting the dog," one American
Airlines flight attendant documented in a flight service report last year.
"The 2 emotional [support] dogs were snapping at one another and agitated,"
another attendant noted earlier this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gina Esoldi stands with her service dog Ricky along with Kyle Santiago with
his dog Kassi. Both work with Next Step Service Dogs.   

 

Claire Harbage/NPR 

 

Those instances, service animal advocates say, create challenges for
veterans who might not look disabled.

 

"When a veteran walks into a public store or restaurant and gets a stink eye
because the person before him was there with a fraudulent dog, it puts a lot
of stress on them," says Gina Esoldi of Next Step Service Dogs.

 

Crowell, the veteran who sued American Airlines, says the general population
doesn't understand veterans who have service dogs. He's received
disapproving glances and invasive questions about his dog Bella.

 

 

New Barking Orders For Documenting Support Animals Before Boarding Planes 

 

National 

 

New Barking Orders For Documenting Support Animals Before Boarding Planes

   

"A service dog means you're blind, you're faking it, or you're crazy," says
Crowell of public perception.

 

In addition, veterans must provide documentation of the tasks their service
dogs perform at least 48 hours before travel, according to ACAA guidelines.
They can be questioned about whether their dogs are service animals and what
tasks that dog performs for them. Most travel and leisure companies also
require verification of vaccination.

 

"You make one call to the airline and you get the runaround," Crowell says.
"People think that having a service dog gives you magical access. But it
makes you have to deal with other human beings every step of the way."

 

"Improving the social mobility of veterans"

 

Two registries in development would offer legitimacy for veterans with
psychiatric service dogs. Diamond likens the idea of a registry to the TSA
pre-check system: instead of providing paperwork that proves their
disability and their dogs' vaccinations, veterans present a searchable
identification number to any travel or leisure provider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navy veteran Thomas Gregg sits with his service dog, Gauge, at the
conference.   

 

Claire Harbage/NPR 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That number - on an I.D. card or a dog vest patch - can be used to verify
the dog has been tested by an independent evaluator on its ability to
perform tasks that alleviate symptoms of psychiatric disability, as well as
on the dog's behavior in public spaces. It might also link to veterinary
records and proof of military service.

 

The first registry is called Operation Service Dog Access and was created by
American Humane, the organization best known for its certification that "No
Animals Were Harmed" in the making of films and television shows. Two dozen
veterans, approved by a small network of independent evaluators, are doing a
pilot program with the registry, according to the project's senior research
adviser Amy McCullough. American Humane hopes to open the registry in the
fall, with the help of some service dog providers and Assistance Dogs
International, the country's largest opt-in accreditation organization for
service dogs. The service will be free.

 

"This project is all about improving the social mobility of veterans,"
McCullough says.

 

The second registry, the American Service Dog Access Coalition, is currently
being workshopped by a group of service dog providers, including 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brett Simon, president and co-founder of K9s for Warriors organization,
stands with his dog Lincoln at the Association of Service Dog Providers for
Military Veterans annual conference in Tyson's Corner, Va. The nonprofit
bills itself as the largest provider of psychiatric service dogs for
veterans.   

 

CRetired Army Sgt. Kevin Crowell boarded an American Airlines flight from
Miami to Key West with his wife and his psychiatric service dog Bella in
April 2014. They were heading to a couples retreat sponsored by the Wounded
Warrior Project.

 

Crowell, who has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from an
explosion during his deployment to Iraq in 2004 and 2005, says he made sure
he properly documented the golden retriever over the phone, days ahead of
his trip.

 

But, Crowell says, gate agents denied him a seat in the bulkhead of the
plane, where Bella could sit comfortably in front of him, because "pets"
were not allowed there. And when Crowell got off the plane to explain his
situation, an airline representative petted Bella, which is strictly against
suggested service dog guidelines.

 

The situation triggered Crowell's PTSD, turning a relaxing vacation into a
"ginormous anxiety-producing disaster," according to the veteran. The family
missed their flight to Key West and drove six hours back home. Crowell later
sued American Airlines, and the Department of Transportation found that the
airline failed to sufficiently train its employees on how to accommodate
passengers with service animals.

 

"Bella has helped me through the hardest times in my life," Crowell says.
"But with her comes travel challenges. It's so stressful that my wife
refuses to travel with Bella anymore."

 

Crowell is not alone. Many veterans and active-duty service members use
psychiatric service dogs to help alleviate the everyday challenges of PTSD,
Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Sexual Trauma - conditions that service
dog advocates call "invisible injuries." Now, the service dog community is
eyeing a dog certification system to streamline travel and leisure for
veterans who, like Crowell, are frustrated with the arduous process and
stigmas attached to taking trips. 

 

Politics 

A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court

   

"Their life is getting smaller"

 

Rory Diamond is the CEO of K9s For Warriors, a nonprofit organization that
bills itself as the largest provider of psychiatric service dogs for
veterans.

 

"Most of our graduates would rather not fly," he says of the veterans who
have passed through the K9s For Warriors pairing and training program. "We
realize that their life is getting smaller because of fake and poorly
trained service dogs and we want their life to be big. We want them to have
every opportunity."

 

Diamond is referring to controversy this year surrounding the influx of pets
boarding planes under the guise of emotional support or service animals.

 

The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act does not define emotional support animals,
creating an opportunity for enterprising passengers to pass off their
household pets as ESAs to avoid paying pet fees. Legislation introduced in
Congress in April would amend the ACAA with stricter definitions.

 

Psychiatric service dogs are different. They perform tasks to interrupt
mental and emotional crises, such as waking their owners from nightmares,
distracting them from painful flashbacks, and making space in crowded areas.
And unlike emotional support animals, psychiatric service dogs are protected
under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Even still, the ADA does
not set a behavioral standard for service dogs, nor require any training.

 

"There's no real across-the-board standard for behavior or tasks for all
service dogs. And there's a number of reasons for that, one of which is that
there's so many types of service dogs," says Sheila Goffe, vice president of
government relations for the American Kennel Club. "But the concerns that a
lot of people have had ... is that we're seeing a lot of poorly trained
service dogs out there that can actually be a threat to public health."

 

"Zoo-like atmosphere"

 

In January, a viral photo of a woman trying to board a United Airlines
flight with an emotional support peacock prompted the carrier to tighten its
policies on emotional support animals. United says it has seen a 75 percent
increase in passengers boarding with ESAs, year after year.

 

American Airlines notes that in the last three years, three times as many
emotional support animals boarded its aircrafts - birds, sloths, kangaroos
and pigs among them - than service animals, according to a comment filed by
the carrier with the DOT.

 

American describes the "zoo-like atmosphere" of airplane cabins crowded with
emotional support animals, which are often registered online by for-profit
companies that provide neon "support animal" vests and paper certificates
for a fee.

 

"Lady with dog lying on the floor, comforting the dog," one American
Airlines flight attendant documented in a flight service report last year.
"The 2 emotional [support] dogs were snapping at one another and agitated,"
another attendant noted earlier this year.

 

Those instances, service animal advocates say, create challenges for
veterans who might not look disabled.

 

"When a veteran walks into a public store or restaurant and gets a stink eye
because the person before him was there with a fraudulent dog, it puts a lot
of stress on them," says Gina Esoldi of Next Step Service Dogs.

 

Crowell, the veteran who sued American Airlines, says the general population
doesn't understand veterans who have service dogs. He's received
disapproving glances and invasive questions about his dog Bella.

 

New Barking Orders For Documenting Support Animals Before Boarding Planes 

National 

New Barking Orders For Documenting Support Animals Before Boarding Planes

   

"A service dog means you're blind, you're faking it, or you're crazy," says
Crowell of public perception.

 

In addition, veterans must provide documentation of the tasks their service
dogs perform at least 48 hours before travel, according to ACAA guidelines.
They can be questioned about whether their dogs are service animals and what
tasks that dog performs for them. Most travel and leisure companies also
require verification of vaccination.

 

"You make one call to the airline and you get the runaround," Crowell says.
"People think that having a service dog gives you magical access. But it
makes you have to deal with other human beings every step of the way."

 

"Improving the social mobility of veterans"

Two registries in development would offer legitimacy for veterans with
psychiatric service dogs. Diamond likens the idea of a registry to the TSA
pre-check system: instead of providing paperwork that proves their
disability and their dogs' vaccinations, veterans present a searchable
identification number to any travel or leisure provider.

 

That number - on an I.D. card or a dog vest patch - can be used to verify
the dog has been tested by an independent evaluator on its ability to
perform tasks that alleviate symptoms of psychiatric disability, as well as
on the dog's behavior in public spaces. It might also link to veterinary
records and proof of military service.

 

The first registry is called Operation Service Dog Access and was created by
American Humane, the organization best known for its certification that "No
Animals Were Harmed" in the making of films and television shows. Two dozen
veterans, approved by a small network of independent evaluators, are doing a
pilot program with the registry, according to the project's senior research
adviser Amy McCullough. American Humane hopes to open the registry in the
fall, with the help of some service dog providers and Assistance Dogs
International, the country's largest opt-in accreditation organization for
service dogs. The service will be free.

 

"This project is all about improving the social mobility of veterans,"
McCullough says.

 

The second registry, the American Service Dog Access Coalition, is
currently being workshopped by a group of service dog providers, including s
For Warriors. Veterans who have graduated from a recognized dog pairing and
training program will automatically enter into the registry. For
self-trained pairs and service dogs acquired outside partner programs, ASDAC
will use American Kennel Club-registered evaluators at more than 1,500 Petco
dog store locations across the country. A subsidiary of Dell Technologies is
developing the online registry. ASDAC hopes to roll out its registry in six
months, available to veterans for a small fee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dixie is a PTSD support dog. Registry programs for service dogs hope to
expand to all members of the service dog community.   

 

Claire Harbage/NPR 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both registries face challenges. Neither program has received formal support
from major airlines or travel destinations yet, according to Diamond and
McCullough, despite both holding meetings with a slew of industry giants.

 

"If we do it right, we will see large-scale adoption," says Keith Salisbury,
who is leading technical support for the ASDAC registry on behalf of Dell
subsidiary Pivotal. "Access providers like airlines would love to have an
easy way to deal with what has become a legitimate problem."

 

And if both registry programs come to fruition, they might be in direct
competition.

 

During a panel discussion at the Association of Service Dog Providers for
Military Veterans annual conference, Diamond said he knows that similar
programs are out there, but that the ASDAC is the only "collaborative way to
take hold of this issue for ourselves and not have it imposed upon us."

 

McCullough of Operation Service Dog Access had not heard of the ASDAC
initiative. She says that she hopes "people can work together to solve this
issue and improve access."

 

Both programs, in the long term, hope to expand their registries to all
members of the service dog community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service dogs rest during a panel discussion at the Association of Service
Dog Providers for Military Veterans annual conference.   

 

Claire Harbage/NPR 

 

Crowell believes that a registry system will vastly improve the relationship
among veterans, their service dogs and access providers like airlines or
rideshare services.

 

"Service dogs are only going to become more prevalent as war continues and
as scientific research proves what this therapy can do," Crowell says. "A
registry creates communication and reduces barriers. When people can gather
and share information, it's a huge win for everyone."