Iraq veterans in legislature want to protect PTSD dogs

He did two tours in Iraq, but it wasn't until he came home that Sen. David Knezek lost a buddy from his unit.

The man committed suicide.

The transition home is too hard for some veterans, Knezek said, and we're not doing enough to help.

As one of only two Iraq veterans in the Michigan legislature, Knezek hopes to change that by making it easier for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to get well-trained service dogs and all the protections that go along with them.

A first-term senator on the Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee, Knezek -- a Democrat from Dearborn Heights -- wants to standardize the training and licensing for PTSD service dogs. He also wants to change Michigan law to provide the same protections for veterans who use service dogs for PTSD and traumatic brain injury as any other person who uses a dog because of a physical disability.

"We came across a number of stories across the country dealing with veterans who utilize service dogs on college campuses, in different businesses, in restaurants, and unfortunately a number of them were being asked to leave," said Knezek, a former Marine. "Folks look at the veteran with the dog, and they don't see any missing limbs, don't see them having any difficulty hearing. They very clearly have the ability to see. So folks think that veterans are being disingenuous with the use of these service dogs."

Knezek tried to get a bill passed last year when he was in the House, but it didn't make it out of committee. That process is going to make the new legislation stronger, he said.

"What we have found throughout our research is... there are umpteen number of statutes dealing with service animals," he said. "There is a significant lack of definition for what it is these dogs can and cannot provide, a complete lack of standardization as it relates to the licensing process, the training, and how that dog visibly is showing to other people it is a working service dog. We quickly realized this was going to be a greater undertaking than what we originally envisioned."

It could be an issue that provides an opportunity for consensus with the Legislature's only other Iraq veteran -- Rep. Tom Barrett,a Republican from Charlotte.

Barrett said he hopes to work with Knezek to craft legislation that will not only protect veterans but also educate the public about the needs of veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

"We have thousands of veterans who have gone and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now coming home," said Barrett, an Army veteran and National Guard reservist who served two tours in Iraq. "I've heard numbers as high as one in three combat veterans could be suffering from PTSD."

Both lawmakers said they hope such a bill would help to avoid situations like that experienced by Eric Calley last month.

The Williamston veteran was recently featured in the Lansing State Journal after US Airways apologized to him for the way a flight attendant treated him and his service dog on a flight from Florida to Detroit.

Calley, a Marine who was among the first wave of U.S. troops to enter Iraq in 2003, served two tours. He now has a trained PTSD service dog who travels everywhere with him. She's trained to monitor his blood pressure, changes in his muscle tension and breathing -- signs of a pending anxiety attack.

During a flight on Dec. 7, Calley said -- and witnesses confirmed -- that a flight attendant from first class came back to coach and began yelling at Calley because his dog, Sun, put her front paws on the empty seat next to him during turbulence.

U.S. Airways later apologized because "it appears our airport personnel didn't handle the situation with the quality customer care we expect."

Calley said the incident shows that corporations and small businesses are going to need greater training, because more and more veterans are going to need and start using service dogs. He hopes any new law will address that issue.

"Big corporations like airlines, they only have sensitivity training once a year for things like ADA regulations," Calley said. "Nine months after that, who is to say they are remembering what those rules and regulations are? So specifications on how to adequately train their people should be spelled out. They should make that more clear."

Barrett said he wouldn't want state law to create "onerous" mandates on businesses, but he said without a law that addresses the issue, he fears future conflicts between veterans and business owners are inevitable.

"If we can head that off in some way ahead of time, it saves a potential lawsuit, saves a veteran from a possibly embarrassing situation," Barrett said.

Advocates say they also hope any such legislation will deal with another growing problem -- imposters.

Jolanthe Bassett, who has been married for 23 years to an active duty Army officer and now works with Calley to bring service dogs to Michigan for veterans with PTSD, said she is seeing an increase in people falsely claiming they can train a dog to be a PTSD service animal.

There have also been cases of people lying about needing a service dog, she said.

"You have a lot of fly-by-night places selling service dog vests, and you have people who are abusing the system and ruining the system," Bassett said. "You get unruly dogs in hotels and restaurants. We definitely need some legislation not only to protect the veterans and their dogs, but also to put the imposters out of business."

Knezek said he would like to get the legislation written, introduced and passed in 2015, but he doesn't want to rush it.

"In the next five to 10 years, Michigan's going to have upwards of 10,000 additional veterans coming home," he said. "If we don't get it right now, we run the risk of losing an entire generation that we need to be better serving... If we're going to send these guys and gals overseas, we have to be willing to take care of them when they come home."