News: Justice Department settles Veterasn's ESA Discrimination Suit

Justice Department Settles Disability Discrimination Case Involving Disabled Veteran in Utah

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced a $20,000 consent decree that resolves a lawsuit alleging that a Park City, Utah, condominium association and its management company violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a resident’s request for a reasonable accommodation.
The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 21, 2011, in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, alleges that the Fox Point at Redstone Association, Property Management Systems and on-site property manager Derek Peterson refused to grant a reasonable accommodation so that Thomas Burton, a disabled combat veteran of the first Gulf War, could keep a small dog in the condominium he rented to help him cope with the effects of depression and anxiety disorder. The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants refused to waive their pet fees and insurance requirements and issued multiple fines that eventually led to the non-renewal of Burton’s lease. Read More

News: Prince Harry Visits Canine Partners for Life

Prince Harry of England's recently visited to Canine Partners to learn more about their work supporting military veterans following his first hand military experience.

Andy Cook says: “The visit by Prince Harry is a huge boost to  Canine Partners and we thoroughly enjoyed showing him how we train the dogs to help people with disabilities.  He was very interested in our work with the Armed Forces, and had a long private chat with petty officer Stephen Brookes about how the dogs can make such a difference to injured servicemen and women.  The Prince proved to be a competent handler with the more advanced dogs in training, and a big hit with the younger puppies who vied with each other to get the most cuddles!  He spoke to many of our working partnerships, giving him an insight into the variety of ways a canine partner can help his disabled owner.” Read More about the Prince's visit

Trigger warning: Militarily scenes and sounds from on going conflicts in video below

Video from the Today Show of Prince Harry  to Canine Partners.

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News: VA CLARIFIES POLICY ON SERVICE DOG FOR VETERANS

WASHINGTON — This week VA clarified a scarcely known benefit in Title 38, offering benefits to veterans using certain types of assistance dogs. AMVETS, which recently called attention to Title 38 Section 1714, successfully received guidelines from VA on how to properly file for the benefit. AMVETS encourages any veteran with an assistance dog, previously denied or awaiting approval of this benefit, to re-apply immediately. Read More

More Information 

• VA Form 10-2641 Sample 
• VA Prosthetics and Sensory Aides Services FAQ on Service Dogs 
• Title 38, Section 1714 as of April 2010