Does anyone know of organizations that place service animals with service members or veterans in Minnesota?

2020-07-23T08:29:20-04:00

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 23 at 2020 8:31 AM

2020-07-23T08:31:31-04:00

The local VSO should know for sure if there are any.

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Jul 23 at 2020 9:28 AM

2020-07-23T09:28:35-04:00

SGT Ben Keen Do you happen to know of any resources?

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jul 23 at 2020 9:30 AM

2020-07-23T09:30:37-04:00

It's possible the MN VA may have resources or know of local programs that might help.

https://mn.gov/mdva/

Department of Veterans Affairs / Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs - State of Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs runs Minnesota's five state Veterans Homes and assists Minnesota's over 300,000 Veterans and their dependents to obtain the benefits and services provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 23 at 2020 9:59 AM

2020-07-23T09:59:54-04:00

Sure do.
https://www.pawsitivityservicedogs.com/

VA does as well, but with a number of hoops to jump through.

Pawsitivity Service Dogs

MN service dog charity that rescues dogs and trains them as service dogs for people with disabilities.

Response by SP5 Peter Keane made Jul 23 at 2020 12:47 PM

2020-07-23T12:47:54-04:00

Took me about 4 seconds to find the answer, Sir.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Jul 23 at 2020 3:11 PM

2020-07-23T15:11:11-04:00

Response by SPC Chas Carr made Mar 8 at 2021 11:46 PM

2021-03-08T23:46:42-05:00

It depends on what you are needing. A mobility assistance dog is different then a hearing dog, which is different then a psychiatric assistance dog.
Are you wanting to go through the VA to do it or are you looking to do this on your own?
If you are wanting to go through the VA the organization will have to be ADI certified, and there is a procedure for getting a “need” from your caregiver, having the Prosthetics and Sensory Aid Department get you in touch with the proper organization that trains and places. This is so you can get the benefit through the VA for the dog and equipment needed.
If you want to go the other route and do it on your own, you could still look on the ADI website at https://assistancedogsinternational.org/resources/member-search/ where you can search for ADI organizations that are near you.
Also try general web searches with keywords for your area and service dogs, assistance dogs, etc.
You can also try local VSO, American Legion or VFW post to see if they have leads. Also try contacting any and all dog trainers in your area to see if they do any work with service dogs. Sometimes they know of a breeder that reserves a few dogs specifically for Veterans.

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