Posted on 11/28/2005 5:40:47 AM PST by Wolfie
Congress acts to let wounded soldier to keep her on-duty dog
McKean County native to adopt 'Rex,' her bomb sniffing canine
This is the story of a soldier and her dog, and the act of Congress required to keep them together.
It began in July, when Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana woke up, confused, in a hospital bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Her last memory was riding in a military convoy in Iraq after she and her bomb sniffing dog, Rex, had searched a village. She remembered being in extreme pain. And she remembered asking frantically about Rex, eventually being told that he had not survived.
But she didn't know that the military had told her husband, fellow Air Force security officer Mike Dana, that she wasn't going to survive her injuries.
She didn't know that, after a bomb exploded under her Humvee, she spent more than a week in military hospitals in Iraq and Germany before arriving in Washington.
And she didn't know that Rex had survived the bombing with only a minor burn on his nose.
Click here for rest of story.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Thank you, but you can't send me off on some long reading assignment, I am on my own plan for the day.
We disagree on how horrible this is. I'm not being self-righteous, you are. That's all.
And if you were King, what would you do for her "future"?
This dog will help this soldier heal faster than any amount of money spent on rehab for her!!
They can always train another dog!! They throw money around on garbage - so I'm not worried about the $18,000 that was well spent on this dog!!
Oops, I misspelled your name before when I tried to ping you.
If you check in today, can use your expertise on retiring MIL dogs.
I'm not stranger to horror, dear.
I'm not being self-righteous, you are. That's all.
LOL. "You don't have to decide, it's been decided. Life, war and government are full of judgment calls. This is one that's been made" is not self-righteous?
Thank you, but you can't send me off on some long reading assignment, I am on my own plan for the day.
Fine, nobody's forcing you. Remain ignorant of our Founding Father's vision of our government, if you like. But just don't dare call yourself a conservative constitutionalist.
It's her dog?
I dunno about that...I served 23 years and had "my airplane" , "my crew", "my shop", "My Sailors" but they really belonged to the Navy. Taking ownership is healthy but the whole machine is designed that losing one person doesn't break it.
I guess I'm the bad guy here...
I wonder if there is any trauma to the dog that might effect its abilities and training. It might not be the same "asset" as it was prior to the explosion. I think the military made the right call on this. It wasn't like a tank driver bonding with his Abrams and taking it home. The soldier's recovery will be better with the aid of her dog and the military looks better for showing a more human side. Win-win, unless this was the only explosive sniffing dog in the airforce.
No - that's just a brief summary of what's happened to date. It's been decided. I wasn't even involved in making the call.
But just don't dare call yourself a conservative constitutionalist.
OK - I'm quite positive I never have and never will... I'm not pompous enough to maintain that kind of image.
I agree that it's a win win. The dog is easier to replace than people on this thread are making it.
The point is, the dog is NOT a "pet."
Service dogs are not trained to be pets, they're trained to serve.
We who help train service dogs get very attached to them, yes, as I noted in post 77. But we know ahead of time we must give them up for the good of others. I'm sure this young woman was taught that during her training too.
They can always train another dog!!
That may be true, but you don't know if enough trained dogs are available RIGHT NOW to replace Rex. RIGHT NOW we may have soldiers still working in Iraq who need Rex to SAVE LIVES IN IRAQ.
If you've ever owned a pet - you have to know that there is a special bond the trainer and the dog.
It's not a pet! It is a tool for saving the lives of US servicemen. I'm sure Bomb sniffing working dogs are growing on trees with the increased requirements for them since 9/11.
Um, lots of things are "decided" by our congresscritters that we on FR heartily disagree with.
But I'm so glad to hear you weren't involved in the decision. Not "pompous" enough, right.
The cost of the dog is a theoretical accounting construct anyway. The dogs are raised and trained by the military, jobs and salaries that are paid regardless of what happens to this dog.
I would support you retiring your plane. Now that would make an awesome lawn piece :)
LOVE that picture - what a sweetie dog.
You aren't the bad guy... It's a matter of the situation... The difference between a dog and inanimate objects is that a dog is a thinking being that recognizes it's master and "pack". In many cases, such an animal will not work with anyone else and often times will be put down. This is why many retiring K-9 cops get to keep their dogs.
I used to have a dog that would listen to any command I gave it. I was the only person that could command that dog though and he'd eat anyone else that tried to force him to do anything.
Remember, you are not working with just one intelligent creature here but two. It's like seperating a parent and child in the eyes of the dog.
Mike
Those are exactly my thoughts too. Which may be exactly why the officials are supporting the soldier receiving the dog. It is said in this article and the previous one that the dog was thought to be dead and had burns on its nose.
That part hasn't be followed up on too well in the reporting though.
German Shepard! Best dogs in the world!
>>>you don't know if enough trained dogs are available RIGHT NOW to replace Rex.
And you don't trust the judgment of Brig. Gen. Robert Holmes and Gen. Michael Moseley to know this because?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.