Military Dog Up for Hero Award

Military Dog Up for Hero Award
Jul 28, 2012
Knight Ridder

On Oct. 6, Gabe, a weapons sniffing dog at Fort Jackson who conducted 210 combat missions in Iraq -- and has more than 20,000 Facebook friends -- will be cooling his paws at the Beverly Hills Hilton with the likes of Betty White and Whoopi Goldberg.

The 10-year-old lab mix -- who was rescued as a puppy from a Houston shelter just one day before he was to be euthanized -- is the 2012 American Humane Association Hero Dog in the military category. Now he and his handler, Sgt. 1st Class Charles "Chuck" Shuck, will face off against other service dogs, from guide dogs to search and rescue dogs, for the title of American Humane Association Hero Dog of the Year before the panel of celebrity judges.
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Microchip reunites soldier with dog missing for 3 years

Fort Hood soldier’s dog turns up in Ariz. 3 years later
Associated Press
Monday, July 16, 2012

PRESCOTT, Ariz.— A soldier will soon be reunited with her dog, which went missing three years ago in Texas and has been found in northern Arizona.

Prescott police say the unidentified soldier returned from deployment in Iraq in 2009 and asked a friend at Fort Hood to watch her basset hound while she left for a training mission.
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Military Dogs' Death at Houston Airport Spurs Suit

Military Dogs' Death at Houston Airport Spurs Suit

December 15, 2011
Associated Press
HOUSTON - A military contractor has filed a lawsuit claiming negligence over 14 bomb-sniffing dogs found dead inside an unventilated truck last year as they awaited shipment to assist U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The suit filed in state district court in Houston by the dogs' owner, American K-9 Detection Services of Lake County, Fla., seeks unspecified damages against Indian Creek Enterprises Inc. and Live Animal Transportation Services, the Houston Chronicle reported. The contractor had previously sought compensation exceeding $1 million in trying to work out a settlement.
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Carson park named after fallen soldier, dog

Carson park named after fallen soldier, dog
By Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 28, 2011 14:46:35 EDT

FILE PHOTO Army Cpl. Kory D. Wiens, 20, and his Labrador retriever partner, Cooper, were killed in July 2007 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq.

DENVER — An Oregon soldier and his military working dog who were killed together in Iraq were honored Friday when a Colorado Army post named a dog park in their honor.

Cpl. Kory Wiens and the Labrador retriever named Cooper were killed by an improvised bomb while on patrol in 2007. Their ashes were buried together in Wiens’ hometown in Dallas, Ore.

His father, Kevin Wiens Sr., brother Kevin Jr. and sister Lindsay watched as the Cpl. Wiens and Cooper Dog Park was dedicated at Fort Carson, an infantry post just outside Colorado Springs.

Wiens had no formal tie to Fort Carson, but officials there wanted to honor his memory, a spokesman said.

Pat McAlister, Wiens’ grandmother, said the family was moved by the gesture.
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Retired military dog faces euthanasia after 3 tours in Iraq

Retired military dog faces euthanasia after 3 tours in Iraq - HELP ROCKY

Pam D'Addio, Dog Rescue Examiner
August 17, 2011


Rocky put his life on the line during his three tours in Iraq as a military patrol and explosives dog, but if he doesn't find a home by August 24, 2011, he'll face euthanasia.

The brave German Shepherd entered the Marine Corps in 2004 and was based at Camp Pendleton. He traveled to Iraq as a service dog three times between 2004-2007 and returned to his base when his last handler was killed in theater. He continued to serve on the base until March of this year, but had no steady handler. In the past 5 months, Rocky was retired when he became unable to work due to a degenerative hip condition.

The kennels at Camp Pendleton are not equipped to provide the kind of care Rocky now needs and without someone who'll step up to adopt him he'll be put down. Retired military dogs are often adopted by their handlers, but losing his has left Rocky without that option. Military protocol doesn't permit Rocky to be surrendered to a shelter since he's a retired patrol dog and his only hope is to have his story touch someone's heart so they'll adopt him.
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Medics get guidelines for treating warrior dogs

Medics get guidelines for treating warrior dogs
By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jun 23, 2011 21:48:40 EDT
Panting is normal. That advice is among several new guidelines issued to battlefield doctors called on to treat dogs injured in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

“Canines differ in anatomy and physiology,” the guidelines say. “Knowledge of key differences will assist the physician in resuscitating and stabilizing ... prior to transport to veterinary care.”

About 650 dogs — mostly German Shepherds, Labradors and Belgian Malinois — are in Afghanistan to sniff out explosive booby traps for U.S. troops on patrol. A dog was with the SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden last month.

Since May 2010, 14 dogs have been killed in combat, six wounded and three are missing, said Army Maj. T.G. Taylor, spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

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Medics get guidelines for treating warrior dogs

Military Dog Adoption Requests On Rise After Bin Laden Raid

Military Dog Adoption Requests On Rise

Military Dogs Classified As Inventory; Adoptions Up After Bin Laden Raid

SAN DIEGO -- Retirement for America's four-legged military veterans is looking a lot brighter.

Nearly two months after a Navy SEAL dog joined the raid that ended in the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the list of those wanting to adopt military dogs is getting longer.

At a dog park in Encinitas, 10News learned 12-year-old Chyba was an Army patrol dog who once served at a prison in Iraq. Now, the German Shepherd spends her days with Jim Silveira, who cares for Chyba when her owner -- the wife of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens -- is away.

Silveira heads the Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, and Chyba is believed to be the only adopted retired military dog in the San Diego area.
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Military Dog Adoption Requests On Rise

Military dogs get top treatment at Lackland hospital

From MRIs to surgery, military dogs get top treatment at Lackland hospital

by Angela Hill / WWL
Posted on May 15, 2011 at 10:05 PM


LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – It is an intense training program for both dogs and handlers. Not all dogs will make it, but those who do will be as important on the battlefield as any piece of machinery.

These military working dogs and their incredible sense of smell can find an explosive device in the ground, in a building, or in a car, saving whole platoons of soldiers.
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From MRIs to surgery

Dog hospital rehabilitates war heroes with four legs

Great story but as WLOX News points out some of these dogs are treated for PTSD and once they are rehabilitated, they are sent back or adopted.

Dog hospital rehabilitates war heroes
SAN ANTONIO (CNN) - A hospital in San Antonio, TX, is helping military dogs injured in war zones get back on their feet.

Called the "Walter Reed" for dogs, dogs that serve the county are treated at the high-tech hospital, which is operated by the Department of Defense.
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Dog hospital rehabilitates war heroes

Would be wonderful if someone would adopt some of the PTSD veterans with no family to go home to just as it would be wonderful if the others wanting to stay in the service were all "rehabilitated" before they were sent back. Odd how we seem to treat dogs better.

Gina, the bomb sniffing German Shepherd treated for PTSD

Andrieski/APGina, a highly trained bomb-sniffing dog with the U.S. military, joins Staff Sgt. Chris Kench on a sofa at the kennel at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. She has been diagnosed with PTSD.

Depressed dog Gina gets treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after coming home from Iraq
BY Aliyah Shahid
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, August 3rd 2010, 11:22 AM


Poor pup.

Soldiers aren't the only ones being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some dogs are too, according to The Associated Press.

Gina, a highly-trained, bomb-sniffing German Shepherd is being treated for the disorder after she came home from Iraq and refused to enter rooms.

Once she went inside, the terrified dog would tuck her tail between her legs and crouch to the floor. She'd then hide under furniture to avoid humans.

Gina used to be a people-friendly canine. But at 2-years-old, she was sent to Iraq to search homes. She would frequently observe loud explosions. She was once in a convoy when another vehicle got bombed.

When Gina came back to Colorado after a six-month stint abroad, a military vet diagnosed Gina with PTSD, which animal experts say can affect dogs just like humans.



Read more: Depressed dog Gina

United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog

'Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle'
by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts)
Nov 3rd 2009 6:00PM
When Maj. Brian Dennis of the United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog with shorn ears while serving in Iraq, he had no idea of the bond they would form, leading to seismic changes in both their lives. "The general theme of the story of Nubs is that if you're kind to someone, they'll never forget you -- whether it be person or animal," Dennis tells Paw Nation.

In October 2007, Dennis and his team of 11 men were in Iraq patrolling the Syrian border. One day, as his team arrived at a border fort, they encountered a pack of stray dogs -- not uncommon in the barren, rocky desert that was home to wolves and wild dogs.

"We all got out of the Humvee and I started working when this dog came running up," recalls Dennis. "I said, 'Hey buddy' and bent down to pet him." Dennis noticed the dog's ears had been cut. "I said, 'You got little nubs for ears.'" The name stuck. The dog whose ears had been shorn off as a puppy by an Iraqi soldier (to make the dog "look tougher," Dennis says) became known as Nubs.

Dennis' experience with Nubs led to a children's picture book, called "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle," published by Little, Brown for Young Readers. They have appeared on the Today Show and will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Monday.
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The True Story of a Mutt a Marine and a miracle

Maj. Steve Hutchison adopted dog finds a home in the U.S.

Slain soldier's dog finds a home in the U.S.
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.


After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.

In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
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Sgt. Bryan McNeely's wife sent back to Germany and needs help

"They detained me at the airport and interrogated me for seven hours. They were so nasty, saying things like ‘Damn Nazis.’ I’ve never lived in Germany. The next day I had to fly back with Lufthansa. They had denied me entry to the U.S.," she said.

Army wife in legal limbo, stranded in Germany
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, August 24, 2008

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — U.S. Army Sgt. Bryan McNeely was in Iraq last year when he found out that his wife, Eva, was stranded in Germany.

She still is, caught in a legal bind.

McNeely, who handles military dogs, has been fighting since March to get his wife home to the States and reunite her with the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Yasmine.

Eva, 33, lived in Saudi Arabia with her German father and Saudi mother until she was 16.

Then she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, U.S. Army Col. David Miklik, at Fort McClellan, Ala.

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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56954
Don't even get me started on this one! Know anyone who can help this soldier and his wife?

Fallen GI's military dog starts new life

Fallen GI's military dog starts new life
Story Highlights
Bo, a 2-year-old black Labrador was wounded by roadside bomb February 5
His handler, Staff Sgt. Donald Tabb, 29, died in the attack
Bo is trained to clear roadways and find explosives and bomb-making materials
Tabb's brother, Willie, fought back tears Friday as he officially received the dog




From Jim Barnett CNN Pentagon Producer



LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- Bo, a 2-year-old black Labrador and specialized search dog, has good reason to be wagging his tail.

Willie Smith fought back tears Friday as he officially received Bo, a military working dog wounded in Iraq.

The military working canine officially hung up his war leash at a moving ceremony Friday and retired to the good life in Georgia after being wounded in a roadside bombing that killed his handler in Afghanistan two months ago.

Staff Sgt. Donald Tabb, 29, serving his fourth deployment with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, died February 5, when his vehicle was hit by the roadside bomb. Bo, who was trained to clear roadways, find explosives and bomb-making materials, survived and has been adopted by Tabb's family.

Willie Smith, Tabb's brother, fought back tears Friday as he officially received the dog.

"I just want to say, having Bo means a great deal to myself and my family," he said.

"Mr. Smith, today you've agreed to take Bo into your home to be part of your family," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Timmins, kennel master with the 6th Military Police Detachment.

"You're not just receiving a pet today. Bo is an outstanding soldier, and he served his country with distinction." Watch a report on Bo »
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http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/04/18/dog.adoption/index.html