Service dog booted from White City VA - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

White City, Ore. — An air force veteran is without services tonight after having to choose between his service dog or the VA facility in White City. Frank Rodela says his service dog Oso growled at a staff member who came into his room while Rodela was sleeping. The VA says that kind of behavior violates their service animal policy. But Rodela says that’s what Oso is trained to do.

“An ADA certified dog, you know just to show us the door? I just can’t believe it,” Frank Rodela says, “I’m just blown away, I really am.”

Frank Rodela served in the U.S. Air Force for 13 years. When he got out, he struggled with PTSD and turned to alcohol as a way to cope. But that all stopped when Rodela got Oso.

“When I got Oso, I just quit cold turkey on the whiskey,” recounted Rodela.

He recently came to the VA in White City to take advantage of programs for PTSD but he says his stay was cut short.

“A VA staff, they just open up the door rapidly and I’m in a nightmare — my dog growled.”

Staff at the VA could not discuss any patient-specific cases but according to their service animal policy, an animal can be removed from VA property if there are “signs of aggression such as snapping, biting, growling or lunging.”

Rodela says Oso has never bitten or attacked anyone but says he sometimes growls to alert Rodela of someone or something and he says his protective instincts have never been a problem at other VA facilities.

“They knew, they knew what his job was.”

Rodela says he suggested an alternative to the room checks by VA staff.

“I said I’ll be out in front of my door at 6 o’clock in the morning, I’ll be there at 10 oclock at night. I solved the problem, he won’t growl at anybody, but that’s it. They didn’t want to hear it.”

Now, Rodela is staying at a hotel until he and Oso can make other arrangements.

While he says he loves the services the VA provides, he hopes his story will inspire a potential policy change for other veterans in similar situations.

“They should really investigate what a PTSD dog is all about, it’s not just gonna be a lap dog, he’s gonna protect and he’s gonna be aware.”

A spokesperson for the VA says it makes decisions on a case by case basis, and say when a dog is asked to leave the property they are provided with kennel information. Rodela had hoped to appeal their decision, but the VA does not allow appeals regarding dogs for safety issues.