The National PTSD Service Association is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization providing service dogs to qualified veterans with Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD). Founded in 2016, the National PTSD Service Association has outreach efforts to veterans in Charlotte County, Sarasota, Manatee & Hillsborough County. Qualified veterans, who suffer from PTSD and reside in southwest Florida, need access to trained service dogs. The trained service dogs will help them return to life with confidence and independence. Contradictory viewpoints on veterans’ post deployment assimilation suggest treating veterans with PTSD with FDA-approved drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (Alexander, 2012). However, the secondary research studies presented in this market and consumer analysis suggest otherwise, and provide research statistical data that a highly skilled, trained service dog, indeed, helps a veteran with PTSD. Veterans with PTSD need the support of a service dog in order to regain balance in their lives. The National PTSD Service Association is leading the way to help restore veterans’ lives.
The National PTSD Service Association connects future service dogs with veteransSunday, January 19th 2021, 6:04 PM EST
Updated: Monday, January 20th 2021, 11:04 AM EST By Alejandro Romero SARASOTA - Veterans suffering from PTSD are seeking help from a nonprofit on the Suncoast to train their service dog. "We’re not a pill, we’re not a nurse, we’re a furry ball of fun,” said Sandra Laflamme.
Laflamme co-founded the National PTSD Association in 2016 to help veterans suffering from PTSD get back on their feet. "We pair them up early, match them to a family put them through a training program, and in doing so give them a dog for life and we’re 100% successful,” said Laflamme. |
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DOGS & PTSD
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work include:
- guiding people who are blind
- alerting people who are deaf
- pulling a wheelchair
- alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure
- reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications
- calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack
- keeping a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) calm
What is a service animal?
Service animals, sometimes called performance companion animals, are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.
Some state and local laws also define a service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the state attorney general’s office.
When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.
Under the ADA, a service animal must be allowed into the place of public accommodation or into the public entity. However, dogs that are either not working or not performing a task but are there simply to keep the person with a disability calm are not protected by these regulations; these animals are providing emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship rather than working or performing a task for the handler. That is, these animals are not engaged in what the U.S. Department of Justice would refer to as “recognition and response.” Further, the ADA is not the only law in play. For example, the Fair Housing Act and its regulations do allow for emotional support animals. Also, the various states will have different approaches for dealing with service animals. We provide canine’s to handler recipient by clinical referral. The training cost of these canines is $60,000 born by NPTSD.org. Your support is critical.
Some state and local laws also define a service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the state attorney general’s office.
When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.
Under the ADA, a service animal must be allowed into the place of public accommodation or into the public entity. However, dogs that are either not working or not performing a task but are there simply to keep the person with a disability calm are not protected by these regulations; these animals are providing emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship rather than working or performing a task for the handler. That is, these animals are not engaged in what the U.S. Department of Justice would refer to as “recognition and response.” Further, the ADA is not the only law in play. For example, the Fair Housing Act and its regulations do allow for emotional support animals. Also, the various states will have different approaches for dealing with service animals. We provide canine’s to handler recipient by clinical referral. The training cost of these canines is $60,000 born by NPTSD.org. Your support is critical.
