Bill for veteran service dogs introduced by new senator

Brand-new Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., introduced his first piece of legislation Wednesday.

The bill would provide service dogs for injured veterans.

An article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune gives the whole story.

As more veterans return from Iraq, service dogs are emerging as an innovative way to provide vets with both mental and physical support. The animals, which undergo intensive training, help their owners retrieve items, remind them to take medication and ... help them keep their balance. Canine companionship also lessens the effects of post traumatic stress disorder, a growing problem for returning veterans.

Franken's bill — an amendment to a 2010 military funding bill — would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a pilot program training at least 200 service dogs and give them to veterans with physical and mental disabilities. The training would be done through nonprofit organizations.