I want to thank Bella for barking to me about a wonderful program the military and the Humane Society are offering to wounded soldiers to help them heal.
The Humane Society’s Dog Tags program helps soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They sign up to help the shelter dogs learn to behave, when the soldiers get out of the hospital they know how to care for and train the dogs. The dogs learn better behavior, making them more adoptable. In my book that’s a win-win.
The program began simply enough more than a year ago. The shelter is located just across the street from the Walter Reed campus. Soldiers out walking would come across shelter staff members walking the dogs. They would stop and pet the dogs and seemed to enjoy getting to know them. Officials at the shelter had the idea to hook the two together through a training program for the troops and the dogs.
“We want the program to be educational so that if there are service members in the program that want to potentially pursue this as a career, … they’re getting as much information as possible and as much hands-on time as possible with the dogs,” Foley said. “We also want it to be recreational, too, for people who … just love animals and like spending time with the dogs.”
The skills the dogs learn in the classes translate to better placement opportunities, Foley said. The program has far expanded the amount of training the shelter’s dogs received previously.
“This is another way our dogs are outside of their kennels being talked to and touched and interacting with people,” she said. “That’s extremely beneficial to reduce the stress levels of the animals in our kennels, and at the same time, it makes the animals far more successful in their new homes if they come into it with some basic obedience training.”
But for all of the good it is for the dogs, it is equally beneficial for the recovering troops, Foley said.
The article shares a wonderful story about Army Captain Lawrence Minnis and Ebony, a pit bull, who he ended up adopting. You can read how they saved each other on Army.com.
Since this is a dog blog, a couple of times a month our boy Bo (woof!) thought it would be nice to get the news through a dog’s eyes.
Bo invites everyone to read a chapter from his upcoming book BAD TO THE BONE due out late September. It’s a funny memoir about the crazy adventures we have shared together over the last 14 plus years, told through Bo’s eyes.
Okay Bo, take it from here….
I recently read a survey that most dogs don’t like vets. I was shocked to hear those results.
I mean, what’s not to like? The camouflage? The ability to relieve themselves on a battlefield? It certainly can’t be the yummy c-rations.
Then I realized the survey was talking about veterinarians, not veterans. That made me feel better.
Well, since I’ve stumbled upon the subject, let me just send a quick thank you for all the members of the armed forces. Without their sacrifice, the freedoms we enjoy in this country would most assuredly be replaced by the chains of totalitarianism.
I know that all dogs know this and are eager to provide support. Check out the study the Dept of Defense has on tap to figure out just how great of animals we are, courtesy of the Kansas City Star.
Can a canine companion soothe the volatile emotions of a soldier haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder?
It may sound far-fetched, but the Department of Defense wants to find out.
Dogsters have been asking for an update and here it is.
“Crisp and Ratchet are scheduled to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC on Monday afternoon.
Ratchet will be cleared by the Center for Disease Control and given a thorough medical evaluation by a local Virginia veterinarian. As long as Ratchet receives a clean bill of health, he will fly to his final destinations, Minneapolis, MN, on Wednesday.
“Northwest Airlines, a Minnesota base company, generously donated Ratchet and Crisp’s flights from Kuwait to Minneapolis, MN.
“You can receive future updates on continued efforts to help our men and women in the Armed Forces adopt their pets and bring about change to the military’s policies on this issue: info@mars-safehaven.net
I always enjoy starting my week with great news, it doesn’t get much better than this. You can read more on Ratchet’s update by going to the SPCA site.
Some of the bronze grave markers were stolen, along with a life-size statue of a German shepherd that once “guarded” the unique burial ground.
Steve Nelson, curator of the Fort MacArthur Museum located inside Angels Gate Park, had long wanted to restore the canine cemetery, but lacked the funds to do so.
While on a visit to the museum Dorothy Matich learned of the cemetery and curator Steve Nelson’s wish to restore it. A one woman dog loving machine Matich has managed to raise thousands to go towards the renovations.
Through teas and small-scale fundraisers, Matich and other San Pedro supporters – Florence Kleinjan and Alan and Liz Johnson among them – managed to raise enough money to install a new wrought-iron fence around the cemetery. Private donations also were solicited, with the Petco Foundation donating $1,000.
An irrigation system has been installed with new turf yet to come. Sculptor Eugene
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Daub is working on a design for a new dog statue for the cemetery.
Replicas of the bronze grave markers – although some are missing, others remain locked safely away in the museum – will be made and placed in the cemetery.
The markers bear the names of the dogs – Lance, Baron, Jack, Winner, Pancho, Fritz – along with their military service dates.
The museum has many very interesting exhibits, including a history of the “K-9 Command.” It’s definitely worth visiting if you’re in the area.
For anyone interested in making a donation for the cemetery project you can do so online, or by sending a check made out to the Fort MacArthur Museum Association (designated for the “K-9 Cemetery”) to the Fort MacArthur Museum, P.O. Box 268, San Pedro, CA 90731.
While most of us realize the impact on the families left behind when a loved one in the military is deployed, many don’t think about the pets left behind.
NetPets, founded by Steve Albin and endorsed by the Department of Defense, matches people willing to care for pets to deploying service members in need of their generosity.
It’s easy to assume that there is always family or a friend to leave their beloved pet with, but that’s not always the case.
“I had people tell me how service members called up for the first Gulf War had just three options: giving their pets away, putting them in shelters or abandoning them,” Albin said. “More than 25,000 pets were destroyed. What kind of way is that for us to repay the people who protect and serve us?”
Steve is right, those men and women that are serving our country, the last thing they should be burdened with is worrying about who is going to care for their beloved pet.
So far, his free service has placed some 12,500 pets into foster homes since he began the project two days after the 9/11 attacks, Albin said by telephone last week from South Carolina.
Steve stated “He gets 20 to 50 calls a week in CONUS (continental United States), but that right now he had no one available in Europe.”
People wishing to help out can sign up by clicking the Military Pets Foster Project tab on the netpets.org homepage. The site contains a form establishing what kind of pets the potential foster home can accommodate.
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I want to thank Bella for barking to me about a wonderful program the military and the Humane Society are offering to wounded soldiers to help them heal.
Since this is a dog blog, a couple of times a month our boy 
