For many veterans, it can be hard to return to normal life, performing daily activities, connecting with others, or managing stress of what they've been through. Trained service animals offer a way to manage the symptoms of PTSD without resorting to the antipsychotics often prescribed to these veterans. Millions of animals, meanwhile, sit in shelters and foster homes, waiting for a place to call a home of their own. Congress has acknowledged this discrepancy with the Dog Training Therapy Act, legislation that directs the Department of Veteran Affairs to carry out a pilot program to train service dogs for veterans in need of therapeutic care for post-deployment mental health. Such a pilot would lay the groundwork for a large-scale program that could benefit the hundreds of thousands of veterans suffering from PTSD . Rather than prescribing more pills, this legislation provides veterans with alternative care that can be integral to their recovery. ...