Sponsors (13)
The bill pilots placing shelter dogs with CBP to improve officer wellbeing and help shelters, trading modest public- and agency-level costs plus implementation and transition risks for a limited, evaluative program with potential operational benefits.
CBP officers and other frontline DHS personnel would gain access to trained support dogs that can improve officer wellbeing and provide operational assistance (therapy, stress relief, non-technical support).
Local animal shelters would have increased demand for dog adoptions, helping reduce shelter populations and promoting animal welfare through rehoming of shelter dogs.
Taxpayers and policymakers would get a time-limited, three-year pilot that allows DHS/CBP to test program effectiveness, costs, and operational fit before any larger roll-out.
Taxpayers (and CBP budgets) would bear new costs for adoption, veterinary care, training, and program management associated with placing and maintaining support dogs.
CBP may face strain from a required rapid 60-day setup, risking rushed procurement, inadequate oversight, and increased burden on staff implementing the program.
If the pilot proves beneficial but ends after three years without a transition plan, CBP personnel and associated services could experience disruption or loss of benefits.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires CBP to run a pilot adopting shelter dogs and training them as support dogs, set up within 60 days and ending three years after start.
Requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to run a short pilot program to adopt shelter dogs and train them as support dogs for CBP’s Support Canine Program. The CBP Commissioner must set up the pilot within 60 days of enactment and the pilot ends three years after it begins.
Official title: Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love Act
Introduced June 12, 2025 by Tony Gonzales · Last progress November 20, 2025