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Posted on 07/24/2014 7:59:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It's dog days on Capitol Hill — or, more precisely, dogs have had their day there.
Five in particular — all war dog veterans. The canines joined their human advocates at a Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday, "Military Dogs Take the Hill," to spotlight an effort to require that all military working dogs be retired to the U.S.
Congress passed a law last year saying the military may bring back its working dogs to the U.S. to be reunited with their handlers, but it does not say they must be brought back.
Carlos, one of five war dog veterans at a Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday. And not one bark from any of them during a two-hour event.i Carlos, one of five war dog veterans at a Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday. And not one bark from any of them during a two-hour event.
David Welna/NPR "We're suggesting today that an easy solution, so very easy, is just to mandate that the dogs are returned to U.S. soil before they're retired," said Robin Ganzert, president of the American Humane Association, which hosted Wednesday's event. "And then, of course, these wonderful groups that we work with can work with the military to make sure the dogs are reunited."
Several House members were on hand to show their support. Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus recalled the key role dogs played when she served as a state legislator.
"We always had a rule: If you wanted to get your bill passed, just show up with a dog. That always won people's hearts over, so I think we're in pretty good shape here," Titus said.
Three years ago, Ruby Ridpath learned from an Air Force captain in Kabul that Carlos, a yellow Lab who specialized in sniffing out explosives during five years in Iraq and Afghanistan, was being retired.
"And I said, 'Bring him home.' Three words, that's all it took: Bring him home," she says. Ridpath and her family adopted Carlos in 2011.
She considers him a vet, not a pet. And she thinks he deserves more help from the government he served.
"I'd like to see that there be some medical assistance, because for Carlos, I've spent almost $10,000 in medical costs for him. He's been worth every penny, but it's quite excessive at times," she says.
In this image from the June issue of National Geographic, Jose Armenta and his wife, Eliana, relax with their Boston terriers Oreo and Sassy, and Zenit, a German shepherd they adopted from the Marines. The Impact of War Civilian Life Taught This Military Dog Some New Tricks Marine Cpl. Daniel Cornier and his colleague, Chaak, in Afghanistan. "Pretty much trust him with my life," Cornier says. The Impact Of War Project Military Dogs Enjoy Brighter Future After Service A U.S. Army soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011 on March 1, 2011. The Two-Way One Commando Had Four Legs; A Dog Reportedly Was Part Of Bin Laden Raid Others want to see more of an effort made to reunite war dogs with their handlers. Kristen Maurer heads Mission K9 Rescue, a group that helps handlers when they come back without their dogs.
"They all ask me the same thing. They say, 'Can you help me get my dog?' The words are not what strikes me. It's their tone of voice — almost a desperation," Maurer says.
One such handler is a Marine vet named Deano Miller, who was in Afghanistan four years ago with a yellow Lab named Thor.
"He'd never leave my side. He was never on leash. He was never in a kennel. He was always just — I didn't have to worry about that. He didn't leave me," Miller says.
But Miller had to leave Thor behind at the end of his tour. "So I had to wait 3 1/2 years for him, but I'd wait more if I had to. ... I was like, if he's 10 years [old] and has one leg, I'll still take him.
"And they used to think I'm joking, but I was serious," Miller says.
In May, the two were reunited. "Everything's a lot better now at home, and it wouldn't be possible if I wouldn't have him," Miller says.
Miller says his shadow has come back.
This is a low-volume list………so don’t worry!
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I hereby grant you allowance to focus on ANY topic that you so choose. And you tell ‘em I said so!!!!
He’s not a dumbass. Try not to use anything but your brain. It really helps. As wonderful as these dogs are, and precious too, they are not vets, which by definition is a human being. The ones who own Carlos want the government to pay for medical care.....That’s pretty open ended. What if care costs $20,000 one year? Where is the line?! If maybe $2000 was provided per year, not to carry over to the next year, I could see that. But love him as they do, we shouldn’t have to pay for an open ended amount for this.
I didn’t ping you, and I guess I should have, but I replied to that rude post addressed to you.
So you think that if we haven’t actually served in the military, then we are not allowed to have an opinion on this subject?? I was a military wife for 20 years, may I have an opinion, pleeeeeease??? I bet if I had an opinion that agreed with yours, you’d say sure.
DmanA, don’t even worry about what Shadowstrike says, HE’S the dumbass.
I agree with what you say. I honor these dogs, but they are not equal to humans, no way.
Agreed; those dogs are of more value to me than 99.98% of the so called human beings I have met in my lifetime.
yeah, this dumbass gives our military it’s full support, shame I can’t say the same about a military wife.
I pity your husband.
You needn’t. If anyone cared anything about your opinion, you’d wet yourself. Or worse. LOL!
IDF rescues dog wounded in Gaza |
hardly.
Let me put it this way, and I’ll try to use small words so you can understand.
Do tanks, trucks or any weapons (everything from rifles to SAMs) get medals, awards or citations?
No?
Then get off your self righteous act.
Unless you’ve served, your opinion means as much to me as bird shit, and that means nothing to me at all.
You don’t have a valid argument, so you resort to personal attacks. I get it. LOL.
And how many years did you serve, Shadowstrike????
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