SAVES Act of 2025

The SAVES Act of 2025 would create a VA-administered, five-year pilot program to award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations that provide service dogs to eligible veterans. The program must be established within 24 months of enactment, run for five years after the first grant is made, and be funded with $10 million per year for five years (totaling $50 million across the pilot). Grants can cover up to $2 million per recipient, with funds used to plan, develop, implement, or manage one or more “covered programs” that place service dogs with eligible veterans. The bill also requires grant recipients to inform beneficiaries that the dog is funded by VA, ensures dogs are provided under humane standards, prohibits charging veterans for the dogs, provides veterans with commercial veterinary insurance for the dogs, and authorizes VA to provide training and technical assistance and to monitor grant use. Eligible veterans include those with disabilities such as blindness, mobility impairments, hearing loss, PTSD, TBI, or other conditions for which a service dog is deemed beneficial.