National Monument Will Honor Military Service Dogs

  Posted on November 3, 2012  by Joy of Living  No comments

In the next two months, a monument honoring military service dogs will be unveiled in California. The U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument will honor every U.S. dog that has served in combat since World War II.

Other monuments honoring military dogs exist, but this will be the first one to go national.  The project began in 2004, when three dog handler veterans pursued the idea.  Legislation to authorize the monument was signed in 2008, but funding for the project was slow to come in.

Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog, joined the fundraising effort.  Natural Balance Pet Food, for which Tillman is a spokesdog, got the funding going with a donation of over $1 million.  Other corporate sponsors followed to provide the money needed to get the monument effort moving forward.

A preview of the monument will be featured at the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1.  John Burnam, one of the founders of the monument, along with dogs and handlers from every branch of the armed services will ride on the monument float.