"Recruitment of Veterans into the pilot phase of the research study started in July of 2011. Recruitment was suspended in January of 2012 after the children of two Veterans in the study sustained bites by the service dogs provided. Additional safety features were added to the study, and recruitment resumed in July 2012. Recruitment was suspended within a month when problems were identified with the health and training of dogs provided by the last service dog contractor. After applying all the lessons learned and seeking advice from a number of established service dog and military working dog organizations, new dog contract health and training standards were developed, and VA dog trainers were hired to support the Veterans in the study. The study was redesigned and expanded to include an emotional support dog arm as a comparison to the service dog arm. Recruitment for the "Phase 2" resumed in December 2014."