It’s not surprising that man’s best friend has assisted the military in many ways. Starting with WWI,dogs, mainly German Shepherds, have been used as scouts, trackers, sentries, and for the detection of mines and booby traps.
The United States War Dogs Association tells the stories of these dogs who have been used in the military in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Gulf. These courageous dogs, and their handlers, performed extremely dangerous duty but their contributions are often overlooked.
Canine Wall of Honor
If you would like to read more of their touching stories the US War Dogs Association has a K-9 Wall of Honor. There are several organizations that now provide service dogs for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. These dogs have been specially trained to assist these disabled American veterans. Canines For Combat Veterans trains dog to help combat veterans with disabilities become more independent. They often help in the transitioning to prosthetics, and assist by providing balance. Hero Dogs is another such organization.
Often times these dogs provide emotional support as well by opening doors in both the literal and figurative sense.
So on this Memorial Day 2010, let’s remember the thousands of dogs who have been effective in keeping our country and servicemen safe as well as those special dogs who support our returning disabled veterans!
Photo Credit: Beverley & Pack on flickr
It’s amazing what our dogs do for us, both at home, and in service. Thank you to the many war dogs and their handler/trainers. We appreciate you!
Thanks, Elizabeth – for marking the holiday with such special members of our forces. Ahhh – the doggies – ever in service to us all in so many ways!!
Thanks for commenting Patti. I think very little attention has been paid to these heroes. They deserve much more. BTW, The Military Working Dog Foundation seeks to rehome retired service dog and dogs who, for one reason or another, failed to complete the course. If you know anyone who might be interested please pass it on.
And if by chance you know of anyone who might be interested, The Military Working Dog Foundation seeks to rehome retired dogs and dogs who have failed the course. Thanks for the comments!