Dogs of war are the most peaceable pooches

Arizona Daily Star ^ | 01/12/04 | Carol Ann Alaimo

[SandRat]

Staff Sgt. Jason Winge never walks alone when he goes to war.

Four paws pad along beside him, swathed in special scorch-proof booties to protect against hot sand in the Middle East.

By day, Rex the military working dog sniffs for explosives that could endanger U.S. troops. After work, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois behaves much like a loyal pet, gazing quizzically at his master as if to ask what's on his mind.

The bond between man and beast is perhaps never stronger than during deployment, said Winge, who soon will head overseas with Rex at his side.

"They get to be like your best friends. You can tell them anything and they act like they're listening," said the 30-year-old airman from Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

"It's the cheapest therapist you can find," adds Tech. Sgt. Max Talley, 32, who oversees the dog unit.

D-M's war dogs are part of a 2,300-member posse of Defense Department canines trained to sniff bombs, detect drugs and attack the enemy if their handlers are threatened.

On the home front, the pooches patrol military bases or provide security for high-profile events.

Some D-M dogs, for example, recently worked the Republican National Convention in New York City. And dogs from Southern Arizona's largest base, Fort Huachuca Army post in Sierra Vista, helped police the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, post spokeswoman Tanja Linton said.

Overseas, the canine corps increasingly is being called upon to support missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dogs often get special equipment in theater, such as heat-resistant booties, bulletproof vests or doggie goggles to protect eyes during sandstorms.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Pentagon has more than doubled the number of dogs being trained each year - from about 200 to more than 500 - at the nation's military dog school at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, the Defense Department Web site says.

The most common breeds employed by the military are German and Dutch shepherds and the Belgian Malinois, all known for vigor, intelligence, assertiveness and eagerness to please their masters.

Once trained, the animals are worth $40,000 to $60,000 apiece, D-M's Winge said. But they have proved priceless when it comes to saving lives, he said.

With noses many times more sensitive than a human's, the dogs can alert troops to the presence of homemade bombs used by terrorists, he said. In Iraq, the dogs sometimes travel door-to-door with troops assigned to oust insurgents, he added.

Canines have a long history of service in the U.S. military, with thousands killed in action in the last century, according to the National War Dog Memorial Committee, a South Carolina-based charity raising money for a bronze commemorative statue in Washington, D.C.

While the Pentagon now buys the animals from suppliers, in wars past many dogs were donated by American families eager to help the troops, the group's Web site says.

In World War I, military dogs were trained to kill rats in the trenches. In World War II, they worked as sentries, messengers and booby-trap detectors.

In Vietnam, U.S. war dogs were credited with saving up to 10,000 service members' lives, though the animals' treatment afterward still sickens many former military dog handlers.

At the end of the Vietnam War, thousands of war dogs were declared "surplus equipment" by the Pentagon and never got to come home. Instead, they were euthanized, abandoned or given away to the South Vietnamese, according to the Vietnam Dog Handler Association, a national group that claims 2,000 former service members.

That wouldn't happen now, said D-M's Talley. Today's war dogs serve to retirement age - usually between 5 and 10. Most are put up for adoption to homes with expertise in handling such animals, for example, former police or military members, he said.

Unadoptables live out their days in a doggie "retirement home" at the Texas dog training center, he said.

Winge said while military work dogs have a serious job, they maintain a playful spirit when work is done.

"Sometimes you just have to let them out and play," he said. "You have to allow them to be a regular dog."

[SandRat]

More online

Find out more about military work dogs:

• www.wardogsmemorial.org
  
  

• www.vdhaonline.org
  
  

• www.uswardogs.org

[SandRat]

WAR DOGs train to save lives of our soldiers.

[U S Army EOD]

EOD had a basset hound that was born in Erie, PA who went to Vietnam in 1965. During his stay in Vietnam, Red dog, was tranfered from unit to unit. In 1972, we in Vietnam took up a send Red Dog home fund. One guy was appointed as his guardian who took care of Red Dog. He lived several years in the States before dying of cancer. During is time in Vietnam, he was wounded three times. (Which reminds me of someone else, but Red Dog had the courage to stay with his human buddies and not wimp out). When the vet examined him after he died, he found more mortar fragments in him.

[anniegetyourgun]

I love war dogs too....almost as much as our soldiers.....

Did you know that last year (May/04), the American Kennel Club awarded the first DOGNY award at the Intrepid Fleet Week Gala? AKC Chairman of the Board, Ronald H. Menaker presented the first DOGNY Heroic Military Working Dog Award to Frenke, a German Shepherd Dog and his handler, Sergeant Haynes. The military dog and handler team has distinguished themselves through exceptional service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

At the formal event, Mr. Menaker also presented the original bronze DOGNY German Shepherd Dog statue for permanent installation at The Intrepid Remembers 9/11 Exhibit to honor working dogs and their handlers serving our nation in local communities and throughout the world.

You'll recognize Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge on the left in this photo.

[Terabitten]

The National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning has a great display on War Dogs.

With noses many times more sensitive than a human's, the dogs can alert troops to the presence of homemade bombs used by terrorists, he said. In Iraq, the dogs sometimes travel door-to-door with troops assigned to oust insurgents, he added.

They scare the hell outta the hadjis, too.

[Calpernia]

Staff Sgt. Jason Winge never walks alone when he goes to war.

Four paws pad along beside him, swathed in special scorch-proof booties to protect against hot sand in the Middle East.

[Calpernia]

bump!

[Calpernia]

bump!

[Terabitten]

I've got this picture, signed by SFC Jesse Mendez, in my home. I met SFC Mendez back in '98 or so when he was working with the National Infantry Museum to set up the War Dog display.

You gotta be a bad man to jump a German Shepherd Dog.

[HairOfTheDog]

Ping!

Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04

[Petes Sandy Girl]

Cool pic! Thanks for sharing! :)

[Terabitten]

My pleasure. I just happened to be at the NIM one day, asking the curator a question about a WWII era half-track my battalion had inherited, and SFC Mendez walked in with a handful of pictures in his hands. We talked for an hour or so, and he gave me a copy. He's a great guy, and an outstanding proponent of military working dogs.

[anniegetyourgun]

FYI - the AKC Dog Museum also has a section devoted to the Dogs of War. It's very well done.

[RedWhiteBlue]

War dogs come in all sizes:

"Smokey," the famous World War II Yorkie of U.S. Army Corporal Bill Wynne hangs out in the helmet that also served as her bathtub on a battlefield in New Guinea. Smokey was a decorated hero and servicemen voted her their top pick to be "Mascot of the South Pacific."

Smokey, the most famous of Yorkie war dogs (yes, there have been others!) was found in a foxhole near Nabxab on New Guinea in Feb. 1944. At first, her rescuers thought she must belong to the Japanese and took her to a nearby prisoner-of-war camp. But it turned out she didn't understand commands in either Japanese or English. The year-old Yorkie soon ended up as the mess mate of Corporal Bill Wynne of Cleveland, Ohio. She was seven inches tall and weighed four pounds.  Smokey lived through 150 air raids on New Guinea and was a crew member on 12 air-sea rescues. She became a hero in her own right when she helped build a crucial airfield for Allied war planes.

Bill Wynne, himself, told this story when he appeared on NBC-TV after the war: (An officer of the Communications Section came up and said) `Bill, we have a long pipe to run a wire through under the airstrip. It's eight inches high and seventy feet long and we are stumped as to how to get the wire through. The wire simply has to go through and we wondered if Smokey could do it?'...(when we got to the airfield) I knelt and looked through the pipes and saw that soil had sifted through each of the corrugated sections at the joinings, and in some places the pipe was half filled...in some places, Smokey would have only four inches of headway. I tied a string (tied to the wire) to Smokey's collar and ran to the other end of the culvert...(Smokey) made a few steps in and then ran back. `Come, Smokey,' I said sharply, and she started through again. When she was about 10 feet in, the string caught up and she looked over her shoulder as much as to say `what's holding us up there?' The string loosened from the snag and she came on again. By now the dust was rising from the shuffle of her paws as she crawled through the dirt and mold and I could no longer see her. I called and pleaded, not knowing for certain whether she was coming or not. At last, about 20 feet away, I saw two little amber eyes and heard a faint whimpering sound...at 15 feet away, she broke into a run. We were so happy at Smokey's success that we patted and praised her for a full five minutes.''

Smokey slept on a blanket made from a green felt card table cover in Bill's tent and shared his C-rations and an occasional can of Spam.  She lived a long life after the war, traveling all over the world with Wynne and giving demonstrations of her remarkable skills, which included walking a tightrope -- blindfolded!

[Ramius]

Dogs with jobs. :-)

[RepoGirl]

This thread makes me think of that great song from Sesame Street that went, "I'm a dog! I'm a workin' dog, I'm a haaaaaaard workin' dog!" It was sung set to footage of dogs performing various jobs, and had sort of a country and western sound, complete with hand claps.

Belgian Malinouses are really, really, really awesome pups. A lady at my dog trainer's bred them. Not only were they incredibly stately, noble dogs (personally, I thought they were prettier than the standard GSD's) but they were scary smart with agility and tracking. Not much in the personality department, but hey--that's what Golden Retrievers are for!

Cool thread, thanks!

[Darnright]

Belgian Malinois do have personalities if you include them in the family, like a Golden. They actually have pretty highly developed senses of humor.

[GVnana]

Today's war dogs serve to retirement age - usually between 5 and 10. Most are put up for adoption to homes with expertise in handling such animals, for example, former police or military members, he said

Good to know.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[RepoGirl]

I never would have guessed they had senses of humor, but I admit, I only saw them in certain settings (advanced training classes, agility, etc.)

Beautiful pups, for sure.