Some 2,500 dogs are working with military units.
Like soldiers and Marines in combat, military dogs suffer from war wounds and routine health issues that need to be treated to ensure they can continue working.
Dogs injured in Iraq or Afghanistan get emergency medical treatment on the battlefield and are flown to Germany for care. Now, if necessary, they'll fly on to a new $15 million veterinary hospital for four-legged military personnel opened Tuesday at Lackland Air Force Base.
To treat the trainees and injured working dogs, the new hospital has operating rooms, digital radiography, CT scanning equipment, an intensive care unit and rehab rooms with an underwater treadmill and exercise balls, among other features. A behavioral specialist has an office near the lobby.
Source: Chicago Sun Times
(via Full Frontal Natalie)
Showing posts with label military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military. Show all posts
A special bond between soldiers in Iraq
Iron, a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives, weapons, wires and other threats, and handler Sgt. Joshua T. Rose, right, wait as military explosives experts investigate a bomb that Iron found south of Baghdad.Sgt. Joshua Rose and Iron are one of about 200 canine teams deployed in Iraq, where the bond between soldiers and their dogs is so deep that some handlers have asked to be buried with their canine partners if they are killed together.
On frigid winter nights in the Iraqi desert, Rose shares his cot and sometimes his sleeping bag with Iron to keep him warm. In the scorching summer heat, he makes sure Iron has enough water before taking his own share. If the heat is too much for Iron, who has a thick coat of glossy black fur, Rose lets him rest, no matter what the platoon leader might want.
"These dogs are like our children. I'm closer to my dog than I am to anyone other than my wife," said Staff Sgt. Charles W. Graves, the kennel master at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, about 20 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Since the start of the Iraq war, about 1,000 dogs have passed through the combat zone, and three have been killed in action.
Their duties include sniffing out the roadside bombs, detecting booby-trap wires, searching for drugs and illegal weapons at border crossings, finding human remains and tracking and chasing down insurgents.
The war in Iraq is the first in which the military has sent dogs to serve as therapy animals for stressed-out troops.
Source: LA Times
The above referenced story was written by Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, she has also created a war dog blog entry with more photos : IRAQ: Dog duty
Operation Baghdad Pups
On Veteran’s Day, November 12, 2007, SPCA International launched Operation Baghdad Pups (www.baghdadpups.com) to help rescue and safely transport unit mascots and companion animals whom soldiers have befriended while serving in the Middle East. Since the launch, a number of news organizations across the United States, including television, radio, and print media, have picked up on the story. SPCA hopes that interest and support of this crucial initiative will continue to grow as more and more people learn about our efforts on behalf of our troops and their four-legged buddies.
The dog who started it all, Charlie, is featured on the Web site and visitors can track the progress as SPCA International works to get him from a war zone to a safe home. Currently, Charlie has received all the necessary shots and is about a week into a 30-day waiting period before he can be transported to a safe way station.
No Buddy gets left behind.
(via)
The dog who started it all, Charlie, is featured on the Web site and visitors can track the progress as SPCA International works to get him from a war zone to a safe home. Currently, Charlie has received all the necessary shots and is about a week into a 30-day waiting period before he can be transported to a safe way station.
No Buddy gets left behind.
(via)
The dogs of war: Canine casualties mount
About 2,000 working military dogs confront danger beside American soldiers, largely in the Mideast. With noses that detect scents up to a third of a mile away, many sniff for explosives in Iraq. Their numbers have been growing about 20 percent a year since the terrorist attacks of 2001, says Air Force Capt. Jeffrey McKamey, who helps run the program.
In doing their jobs, dozens of these dogs have also become war wounded – scorched by the desert, slashed by broken glass, pelted by stray bullets, pounded by roadside bombs.
Their services are so valued, though, that wounded dogs are treated much like wounded troops.
“They are cared for as well as any soldier,” insists Senior Airman Ronald A. Harden, a dog handler in Iraq.
Their first aid comes out of doggy field kits bearing everything from medicine to syringes. Some are evacuated to military veterinary centers hundreds of miles away and even to Germany and the United States for rehabilitation. Many recover and return to duty.
Military dogs must be in top condition to perform the duties they’re assigned. And training is rigorous.
Dogs take their basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where they learn to tolerate the crack of gunfire and sputter of helicopters. They are trained to sniff for explosives on command, freezing and staring at suspicious objects.
Merely baring their teeth, they can cow a crowd. Commanded to strike, they can easily flatten a big man with one leap, flying like a 50-pound sand bag tossed from a truck.
Smart and strong Malinois and shepherds predominate, but other breeds are trained, too. Even small dogs, like beagles or poodles, are occasionally taught to detect explosives in submarines and other close quarters.
In doing their jobs, dozens of these dogs have also become war wounded – scorched by the desert, slashed by broken glass, pelted by stray bullets, pounded by roadside bombs.
Their services are so valued, though, that wounded dogs are treated much like wounded troops.
“They are cared for as well as any soldier,” insists Senior Airman Ronald A. Harden, a dog handler in Iraq.
Their first aid comes out of doggy field kits bearing everything from medicine to syringes. Some are evacuated to military veterinary centers hundreds of miles away and even to Germany and the United States for rehabilitation. Many recover and return to duty.
Military dogs must be in top condition to perform the duties they’re assigned. And training is rigorous.
Dogs take their basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where they learn to tolerate the crack of gunfire and sputter of helicopters. They are trained to sniff for explosives on command, freezing and staring at suspicious objects.
Merely baring their teeth, they can cow a crowd. Commanded to strike, they can easily flatten a big man with one leap, flying like a 50-pound sand bag tossed from a truck.
Smart and strong Malinois and shepherds predominate, but other breeds are trained, too. Even small dogs, like beagles or poodles, are occasionally taught to detect explosives in submarines and other close quarters.
Killed in Iraq, dog team buried together
The first military working dog team killed in action together since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were laid to rest together July 18.Cpl. Kory D. Wiens, 20, of the 94th Mine Dog Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and his partner, Cooper, were killed July 6 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq. They had been in Iraq since January.
The cremated remains of Wiens and Cooper, a Labrador retriever, were buried together at Salt Creek Cemetery in Wiens’ hometown of Dallas, Ore., at the request of his family.
The Army has 578 dog teams, and they have served several hundred rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Research indicates that the last military canine team to be killed together was during the Vietnam War.
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