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dogs. An armed team member often walks behind the handler ready to shoot any marauding dogs if they try to attack the military dog.
SSGT. TIFFANY LITTLE OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE AND “ALEX” CHECK A VEHICLE FOR EXPLOSIVES
HANDLER AND DOG READY FOR A SCOUTING MISSION
dogs. One fights the war on crime; the other fights the war for freedom. They keep us safe, secure and free.” Snow is currently working on a bill that will give veterinary benefits to M I L I T A R Y retired military and law enforcement W O R K I N G D O G S dogs in Florida. LIKE “CIR” “Many of these dogs come down OFTEN WEAR with cancers, likely because of the “DOGGLES” AND B O O T S F O R substances they’ve come in contact with, PROTECTION FROM S A N D S T O R M S A N D and treatment can cost thousands of T H E S C O R C H I N G , dollars,” says Aiello. “We’re trying to get R O C K Y E A R T H veterinary care for the retired dogs, just OF IRAQ AND A F G H A N I S T A N like retired human veterans receive.” “We have a sponsor for this in the Florida Senate but not yet in the House,” says Snow. “Once we get a sponsor in the House, I can go out and get the support from veterans’ groups and the general public.” Snow says people can help by volunteering at events, putting up displays about war dogs at local In 2000, Ron Aiello and four other military libraries and schools, and by signing petitions to dog handler veterans launched U.S. War Dogs get a War Dogs stamp created for the United States Association Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated Postal Service. to educating the public about military working dogs and helping with adoptions for retired dogs. TO DONATE OR LEARN MORE: “Awareness of war dogs is the biggest priority U.S. War Dogs Association, Inc. in our chapter,” says Barbara Snow of Bronson, (609) 747-9340 / uswardogs.org who heads up the Florida Chapter of U.S. War Dogs. “Because of the privacy of the military, these Florida Chapter: (352) 213-8958 / email: k9mwds@directv.net dogs aren’t as well known as law enforcement
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WHEN OUR NAVY SEALS SUCCESSFULLY E X E C U T E D Operation Neptune Spear, the risky night raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound earlier this year, a military working dog was part of the team. “Cairo,” a Belgian Malinois, rappelled out of the helicopter with the Seals. In these situations, the dog wears a special harness and is lowered from the ‘copter by cable. (Dogs wear special goggles to protect their eyes when near helicopters and from sandstorms in desert country.) His handler immediately follows and unsnaps the dog’s harness, so the canine can get to work. Aiello explains that the dog likely was wearing a ballistic vest and may also have been equipped with ear buds. It makes sense that the handler can’t speak out loud to give commands to the dog in such a dangerous situation. It’s common to use ear buds so the handler can speak softly into a microphone on his or her own vest and tell the dog what to do. Sometimes a dog is equipped with a night vision camera mounted on his back. This comes in handy when the dog is sent ahead of the team as the handler carries a monitor and can see everything the dog is seeing.
Military working dogs are currently classified as “equipment” by the U.S. military. One of the goals of the U.S. War Dogs Association is to see that retired dogs are classified as “veterans.” Look through photos of military canines currently deployed overseas and the dedication and focused energy of these four-legged service members is obvious. Although they may not communicate in words, they share a powerful bond with their handlers and their devotion is complete. “Man’s best friend” may actually be our country’s best friend, thanks to their faithful service.
If you’re interested in providing a final forever home to one of these four-legged service members, you can review the requirements and download an adoption application at US W A R D O G S.O R G
WHEN A DOG CAN NO L O N G E R P E R F O R M full duty in the field, it returns to Lackland AFB to work as a training or demonstration dog. Most dogs work for an average of 10 years total. According to Lackland AFB, about 300 dogs are retired each year. There’s no fee to adopt a retired dog, but qualified adopters must travel to pick up the dog in person and most are adopted out of the Lackland facility.
RECOGNITION FOR MILITARY WORKING DOGS
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