The Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act, or SAVES Act, establishes a five-year pilot program requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations that provide trained service dogs to eligible veterans. Eligible veterans include those enrolled in VA care who have disabilities such as blindness, mobility issues, hearing loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other conditions where a service dog would be medically beneficial. The VA must establish the pilot program within 24 months and will award grants only to nonprofits accredited by recognized assistance dog organizations, with recipients required to provide free dogs to veterans, notify them of VA funding, and inform them of available benefits. The program also requires the VA to provide veterinary insurance for all service dogs provided through the grants, with coverage continuing even if the pilot program ends. The bill authorizes $10 million annually for five years to fund the program.
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