PTSD Veteran sleeps outside Rehab, service dog not welcomed

Combat Veteran Sleeps Outside with Service Dog When Denied Access to Rehab Facility
FOX 16 News
By: Rebecca Jeffrey
Jul 29, 2018

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Justin Simmons knows what war looks like.

"I hear screaming and yelling, I hear explosions."

It's a scene that now lives in his head.

"You know, there's some things that don't go away," Simmons said.

The Iraq combat veteran is taking on a new battle for his best friend.

"This guy's kept me out of more trouble than any jail commitment," he said looking at his service dog Blue.

He says a PTSD episode landed him in jail back in 2011.

He says last week he was sentenced to treatment at the Recovery Centers of Arkansas in North Little Rock until a bed opened up at the VA.

"I was automatically court ordered and if I left I would go to jail," he said.

While he was welcome inside the RCA, Blue was not because he didn't have the right certification.

"You're not allowed to deny me access with my service dog. It's not legal," Simmons said.

Blue is a registered service animal through the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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