Free Republic

When President Obama signed the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act on the day before Thanksgiving, after originally threatening to veto it, he approved $607 billion in military spending and small yet meaningful changes to how the military handles its retired working dogs, guaranteeing them a return ticket to the United States at the end of their service. Until now the military's policies had resulted in dogs being retired in overseas kennels and sometimes being separated from their handlers in the adoption process. Under the language in the new law, introduced by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R., N.J.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill...

Out in front of America’s troops, combat canines and their handlers lead the way onto the most dangerous battlefields on Earth. This is what a dog handler tries not to dwell on: the risk associated with the need to find bombs and with the possibility of missing one. At the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military had a force of roughly 2,500 military working dogs (MWDs). Some have entered our national lexicon as heroes in their own right