Posted on 01/05/2005 12:58:40 PM PST by esryle
LAS VEGAS -- The commander of an Army Reserve detachment is begging friends back home to send food for Iraqi police dogs.
"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Capt. Gabriella Cook, commander of the Las Vegas-based 313th Military Police Detachment, said in a Dec. 28 e-mail reported Wednesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"Some of them have already died," Cook wrote. "Half of them are sick. We have no way of buying actual dog food here."
Cook's unit arrived last month in the Iraq capital. She said 12 German shepherds and one black Labrador retriever trained for bomb-detection and attack at the Iraqi Police Academy in Baghdad have been eating table scraps and garbage.
"It seems like an emergency situation," Diana Paivanas, a Henderson pet-care provider and Cook's friend, told the Review-Journal. "Something needs to be done now to save these dogs."
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a veterinarian, directed a legislative aide to contact an Army liaison to investigate, a spokesman for the senator said.
Military officials at the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad did not immediately respond to the newspaper's request for information about the food supply for U.S. canines in Iraq.
Paivanas said she found it costs about $50 to mail a 30-pound bag of dog food to Cook.
Henderson Veterinarian Terry Muratore estimated that each of the 13 working dogs would consume a 40 pounds or more of dry food per month.
"If securing the country entails having security dogs that are healthy, then we should do that," Muratore said. "Surely there's space on a C-130 to get a pallet of dog food over there."
I forwarded this to my Purina contact...will keep you posted.
If you want to ping anyone who responded to this thread and tell them that I will be happy to box and ship dried dog food to Baghdad if they will pay for it.
I have flat rate boxes, 8 1/2 x 11 x 5 1/2", that ship for $7.70 each. No sense in paying for insurance.
And then add whatever the cost of the dog food to fill it. I will buy a large bag and fill smaller ziplocks to fit the box if they want to do that.
I am too broke right now to do this on my own. Anyone who is interested can contact me or you.
Thanks, WTW. I hope it makes a difference.
I totally agree. He is so evil it boggles the mind.
Thanks for getting the info, Howlin! Heartbreaking story. Rummaging through garbage to avoid starvation is not a suitable reward for dogs from whom so much is expected......or for any animal for which humans have accepted responsibility.
I hope the LV Valley Humane Society can find a more cost efficient method of shipping the food than Capt. Cook's friend.
They just announced http://www.lvvhumane.org on the radio as a contact point. Apparently Cook is working with that humane society.
N/M, i just saw you posted that above.
Ping! Have you seen this?
ping
Ping
Confirmation that the need is real at post 128
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks
PING! Need to help these guys!
Bumping so I can donate this weekend.
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Kitty Ping List alert!
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My father used to say don't believe anything you read and only half of what you see. I don't believe this. If there is no dry dog food then these dogs would be eating the same food the handlers eat. These are valuable dogs that are loved and respected by their handlers, no way are they going to let them starve. Liberal dimocrat bilge.
I've had and loved dogs my whole life and am fully aware of their needs. However, I assure you they can do quite well on a diet of MRE for a lot of days. The alternative is far, far worse.
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