Sens. Moran, Tester Introduce Resolution to Recognize National Service Dog Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) - ranking member and chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee - introduced a resolution recognizing today, September 20th, as National Service Dog Day in honor of service dogs across the country.

"Service dogs are a valuable resource for our nation's veterans and can provide life-saving assistance, help restore independence and offer cherished companionship for those who have served our country," said Sen. Moran. "This resolution is a way to raise awareness about the unique training and tasks that service dogs perform to help Americans living with disabilities, and particularly to help enable veterans to succeed after service. I am thankful for my colleague Sen. Tester's support of our nation's veterans and their four-legged companions."

"For thousands of veterans and servicemembers across the country, service dogs play an incredible role helping our fighting men and women heal from wounds of wars both seen and unseen," said Sen. Tester. "Designating a day in their honor allows us to rightfully recognize these four-legged heroes for their impact improving the lives of so many of our nation's heroes."

There are estimated to be thousands of service dogs working across the United States assisting individuals with a wide-range of disabilities and ailments. A service dog is defined as a dog which has been specifically trained to perform tasks for a person suffering from a disability. These can include seeing eye dogs, seizure alert and response dogs for people with epilepsy, hearing dogs, and dogs trained to perform actions to assist individuals suffering from mental health conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The full text of the resolution here.

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