While a U.S. war dog named Allan has been spared from euthanasia after being adopted, it does not mean all retired military K9s will get to go to new homes.
By Cathy Scott, Best Friends Animal SocietyThat news comes as a surprise to many people, including federal lawmakers, who mistakenly believe that a federal bill signed into law in 2000 by President Clinton protects four-legged soldiers.
In reality, the law does not guarantee a safe future for these canine heroes.
“A lot of people think the law requires that (service dogs) be cared for,” said Mike Fry, executive director of Animal Ark, a no-kill shelter in Minnesota’s Twin Cities that’s been helping military dogs in Iraq since the war began.
“It just makes it an option. It doesn’t require it,” he continued. “It should be mandatory that if we’re going to breed and deploy and use these animals for our military, we should make sure they have a quality life after their service is over.”
The law allows police agencies and other qualified people to adopt the animals, once they’re determined adoptable by both the commanders of the dogs’ last units at the recommendation of military veterinarians. Many dogs not declared adoptable are put down.
According to the Pentagon, more than 30,000 dogs have worked side-by-side with U.S. fighting forces since World War II. The dogs are trained to find booby traps, act as decoys to draw enemy fire, guard troops, and search for downed airmen.
Pictured left: Allan. After Allan was retired from service, he, like many other German shepherds who once served as police dogs, was housed at Fort Myer Army Base in Arlington, Virginia. It’s where Allan, who once deployed with his handler to Iraq, was to be put down last December.
A military veterinarian had earlier deemed Allan, who is twelve years old, unadoptable because of a back problem.
“It was determined that it was to Allan’s benefit to be euthanized,” said Staff Sgt. Casey Gregg, spokesman at the base’s dog kennels. “The reason he got put back up for adoption was his condition stabilized.”
On behalf of military dogs like Allan, the U.S. War Dogs Association -- a nonprofit group founded by former K-9 handlers who once served in Vietnam -- recently kicked off a drive urging Pentagon officials to show the country’s appreciation by awarding combat medals to dogs who serve during wartime.
But even more than that, Fry emphasized, canine soldiers deserve secure futures.
A major hindrance to military service dogs finding new homes is that they’re not offered for adoption to civilians or to animal rescue groups for fostering.
“We adopt out to military personnel,” Gregg said in a telephone interview. “This isn't a public facility. These are police dogs. We're not a rescue kennel.”
Mary Salter, operations director at Animal Ark, contacted Gregg, offering to foster Allan, after she read an article about Allan’s plight.
“They said we couldn’t have him, that they would find him a good home,” she said. “Sgt. Gregg said they don’t want the dogs in foster homes and they don’t want rescue groups to place them.”
Therein lies the problem, Mary said. The military is afraid that, because the dogs have been trained to be protective of their handlers and even trained to be aggressive, they could bite people they don’t know.
“They can be retrained,” Mary said. “To just bring them back from war and kill them, that’s just not acceptable. How many dogs are being euthanized that aren’t getting publicity, as Allan did, that we don’t hear about? The military trains them to be aggressive and then they euthanize them? It’s unfair to the dogs.”
It’s a fate military representatives appear uncomfortable addressing. When asked how many retired dogs scheduled to be euthanized were currently living at the Fort Myer kennels, Sgt. Gregg referred all queries to public information officer Leah Rubalcaba, who, in turn, referred questions to the media relations office in Washington, D.C. But a phone message left for Barbara Owens, spokeswoman for the Army Military District of Washington, was not returned.
“There seems to be some secrecy built up around the situation,” Fry said. “And the fact that the military hasn’t partnered up with rescue groups is counterproductive. We should not have had to go through all the work to try and rescue Allan only to find out that they won’t let rescue groups take service dogs.”
He suggested service dogs be redeployed with Homeland Security, helping to keep U.S. borders secure.
Until changes are made, Fry said the public could help war dogs currently serving in Iraq by providing supplies and materials for them. He has been working with the Space Coast Ward Dog Association (www.scwda.org) in Florida to ship goggles, cool vests and booties directly to handlers in Iraq.
“They sniff out where bombs have gone off, where there’s sharp metal and glass. The boots protect their paws. In windstorms the dogs were completely helpless, so goggles was one of the most-requested things that canine handlers wanted for their dogs.”
As for the fate of service dogs once the war in Iraq winds down, their future is shaky at best.
“There’s nothing in place to guarantee that the dogs will come back from Iraq,” Fry said. “I think it should be flat-out national policy that those dogs should never be left behind. The existing law gives the secretary of defense authority as to whether we bring them back or not. If you contact your representatives, they’ll say it’s been taken care of with that law, but it’s not true.
“There’s no reason why these dogs can’t simply get on those planes with their handlers and go home.”
Photo (top) of military kennels, compliments of Space Coast Ward Dog Association. Photo (inset) of Allan, used with permission by Fort Myer.