In his first piece of legislation as Minnesota's junior senator, Al Franken is looking to expand the number of service dogs available to wounded veterans.
Franken wrote in an opinion published Monday in the Star Tribune that his proposed pilot program will train "a statistically significant number of dogs" to measure the benefits to veterans living with devastating injuries sustained on the battlefield.
The dogs' companionship, Franken said, provides invaluable health benefits -- both physical and emotional -- to veterans suffering from debilitating injuries and psychological disorders. The service dogs will help "reduce the suicide rate among veterans, decrease the number of hospitalizations, and lower the cost of medications and human care," he said.
Franken's legislation was inspired by a meeting he had last January with a wounded former Iraqi intelligence officer and his golden retriever, "Tuesday."
"Service dogs like Tuesday can be of immense benefit to vets suffering from physical and emotional wounds," wrote Franken.
Franken said service dogs typically cost about $20,000 to train and another $5,000 to place with a veteran -- a cost that is well worth the investment, he said.
"It is my strong belief that a service dog will more than pay for itself over its life, and my bill is designed to determine the return on investment with a pilot program that provides service dogs to hundreds of veterans," said Franken.
