For thousands of years, the natural abilities of dogs have been used in times of war. They accompanied ancient armies into battle, serving bravely alongside soldiers of every nationality and time.
More modernly, dogs have worked as sentries, scouts, messengers and bomb detectors. In the Vietnam War alone, it’s been said that dogs and their handlers may have saved as many as 10,000 lives.
Some of the breeds most frequently used are the Doberman,
German Shepherd dog, Malinois and Labrador retriever.
One of my customers, Ann Earley, recently visited the war
memorial for dogs in Tennessee
and sent me this photo of a beautiful monument. To me, it completely captures
the dog’s elegance and bravery.
I was quite interested to learn that explosive detection
dogs are trained for duty at Lackland Air Force Base in San
Antonio, Texas. I have a niece
and nephew in the air force, both of whom spent time there for training. I
can’t wait to ask them if they ever ran across any of these canine boot camp
members.
Since the year 2000, retired war dogs can be adopted by
their handlers or others who have the ability to care for them properly. It’s
good to think of these canine soldiers having a well earned and golden
retirement.
It’s humbling to think of the life-saving work of dogs on our behalf, and it really brings home the responsibilities we have to take care of dogs as well as other animals. This world has us caught up in exquisite interdependencies and your wonderful blog entry is a reminder of how our species can better survive in cooperation–not competition–with other living beings!