Congress Acts To Let Wounded Soldier To Keep Her On-Duty Dog

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Nov. 28, 2005

[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.

[apackof2]

Great picture

[bigsigh]

yeah, how dare you disagree with us, where do you think you are? LOL!

[af_vet_rr]

With all due respect it is not her dog.... It's the US Army's dog and it is needed to save lives. It costs $18,000 and a couple of years to train one of these animals. I can sympathize with the Sergeant, but this is kind of selfish.

That is correct. The only instance of her keeping the dog is if this is a case where the dog cannot be used by others - I've heard of working dogs (both police and military) that learn to work really well with their handlers (and vice versa) and that don't do so well with a different handler.

I remember hearing somewhere that the dogs were put to sleep when they weren't able to work with anybody other than their original handler, but that may have been something else.

[MikefromOhio]

Remember, this is a young woman and dog that John Murtha said was the enemy. I wonder how he voted on this?

He did? Got that quote anywhere?

[Ditto]

It's the US Army's dog and it is needed to save lives. It costs $18,000 and a couple of years to train one of these animals. I can sympathize with the Sergeant, but this is kind of selfish.

My understanding of the policy is it's one dog, one handler. If the handler who trained the dog from day one is rendered unfit for duty, the dog's career is over. If she didn't take the dog, it would likely have been put down.

[HiTech RedNeck]

At a certain age the pooch gets retired. Maybe it was close enough to its retirement age that it wouldn't have been worth training it to a different handler.

[Wristpin]

So if a dog handler seperates from the military or transfers, the dog is no longer usable? That doesn't sound right.

[Calpernia]

Previous story:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1525606/posts
Wounded vet wants Air Force dog

[AnAmericanMother]

Couple of unemotional points you might want to consider.

The Shepherds/Tervurens tend to be "one man dogs". For a new handler, he'd probably have to be retrained at considerable expense. At a minimum, he'd have to be familiarized with a new handler. The dogs also have a relatively short working life. Considering the potential investment in retraining (which may or may not "take") and his remaining working life, it may make more sense to train a new dog with the new handler rather than attempting to retrain an older dog with a shorter working life.

Also, if you don't become 'emotionally attached' to your dog, he won't work for you worth a darn. It's like having a good dancing partner - dog knows what you're thinking before you know it yourself, and vice versa. You get emotionally involved as part of the job.

I have a very generous and outgoing Lab who (unlike the schuetzen type dogs) will happily work for ANYbody, whether running agility courses or picking up ducks (especially if there's a treat in the guest of honor's pocket). But the difference between her working with somebody else and working for me is quite noticeable - we're a team.

This is much more true for a military working dog in a life or death situation.

There's also the question of support for the troops on the morale/emotional side . . . like a hot Thanksgiving dinner if at all possible . . . the folks on the sharp end are heartened by the idea that they will not be left behind and that every effort will be made to look after their welfare, especially if they get hurt.

Hair, you have more experience with the schuetzen dogs, could you weigh in?

[Calpernia]

follow up on Rex and Sgt. Jamie Dana. Thanks for this pic from the previous thread.

[Ditto]

Purple Heart?? How magnanimous of the AF. Usually they have baskets of medals to dole out for flying somewhere near Iraq. Now watch the military and government try to find her a job as there is no reason she cannot work full time etc etc.

Are you always a jackass, or is that a part time occupation?

[McGavin999]

When Rex came to the hospital for the first time, Sgt. Dana whistled when she heard him coming. He immediately ran down the hallway and jumped into her hospital bed, tangling himself up in her tubes.

That's where I lost it, right there.

[Calpernia]

[Calpernia]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1529723/posts?page=10#10

::sniff, sniff::

[Valin]

Thanks

[GBA]

I guess all of those cards and letters did some good! This is the happy ending I was hoping for.

[untrained skeptic]

If that is the case, then I would agree that this would be a good idea. I also wouldn't think that it would take an act of congress to make it happen.

This is much more likely a ploy by a certain PA representative to try and undo some of the damage he did with his constituents when he called for us to withdraw from Iraq.

However, it appears that he can't seem to do anything without putting more of our soldiers in danger.

[dennisw]

May the Lord heal her as best He can

[Wristpin]

Here's a website excerpt from the Military Working Dog school at Lackland AFB.

Most (not all) military working dogs serve long, useful careers. If they are no longer needed by one installation, they are now moved to another.

There is no limit to the number of times a MWD can change bases or handlers! In this way, most dogs can serve a long useful life!

There was a time, that once a dog was accepted for military duty and trained, it would not be returned to a civilian environment...but that changed on November 9, 2000, when President Clinton signed Congressional Bill HR-5314 into law.

Congressional Bill HR-5314 allows the option of retired military working dogs being adopted, by their former handlers, or any individual, who has comparable experience or by law enforce- ment agencies.

With the new law, the U.S. Department of Defense can change its policy forbidding the adoption of these dogs due to the possible danger they pose to the public. The law resolves this concern with its "Hold Harmless Agreement," which releases the United States from any liability for a retired military dog's actions once the dog is transferred to a new guardian.

To be eligible, the dog's current Base Commander and Vet would have to approve the dogs suitability for adoption.

Those dogs who are unable to perform active duty, and are not eligible for adoption, would still be sent back to the Lackland 341st Dog Training School, and use in the training of new dog handlers; or for MWD demonstrations.

While the law allows for the adoption of the dogs as an option, it is still not a requirement for the DOD. However, the DOD will be responsible for keeping an annual, detailed record of each dog that is adopted or euthanized, including case by case information about why a dog was either adopted or selected to be euthanized.

[Ditto]

So if a dog handler seperates from the military or transfers, the dog is no longer usable? That doesn't sound right.

Same on your local police force too. Typically, these dogs are intensely trained to bond with a specific individual and do only what that individual tells them. They don't raise their paw and take an oath to the constitution like two legged soldiers. Trying to reform that bond with another individual is problematic at best.