H.R. 7904 — Protecting America’s Working Dogs Act of 2026

This section states seven congressional findings on the role of military working dogs—approximately 1,600 utilized by the Department of Defense—in national defense operations (e.g., raids resulting in the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), their assistance to federal agencies (e.g., U.S. Capitol Police, ATF, TSA, CBP, FBI), and the post-retirement medical care challenges faced by these dogs and their handlers.

This section establishes a grant program to be carried out by the Attorney General not later than one fiscal year after enactment and for four fiscal years thereafter, under which the Attorney General may award grants of up to $575,000 each to eligible nonprofit organizations for covered medical expenses (i.e., veterinarian visits, procedures, diagnostic tests, medications, and medically necessary supplements) of qualified working dogs. Eligible organizations must primarily care for such dogs, provide medically related financial assistance to their owners, allocate at least 70% of spending to program expenses for those medical costs, and separately report veterinary expenses on IRS Form 990; grant amounts are reduced by any unexpended funds from prior awards under the program. Qualified working dogs include retired dogs that performed military, security, or law enforcement activities for the federal government (including the Armed Forces) and service dogs for veterans (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101) or retired federal law enforcement officers. The Attorney General must submit an annual report to Congress on the number of dogs assisted and average medical expenses per dog.