To All Working Dogs in the Military, I Salute You!

  Posted on November 11, 2011  by Joy of Living  No comments

Party Marty here, the cool cat who has come to recognize those who have protected our freedoms on this Veterans Day:  While I want to give great thanks to all those human veterans and active military personnel today for their selfless service to our country, I also want to honor the working dogs in the military. Yes…I am a cat, and I normally choose not to recognize dogs, especially that one with whom I live, but on this honorable day, I think it is vitally important to give thanks to the dogs who support our troops and help to defend our freedoms.

Dogs have been part of the military since the Revolutionary War. First, they were used as pack animals, and by World War I, they were used to kill rats in the trenches.

However, during World War II, dogs began to support military operations. The U.S. military deployed over 10,000 specially-trained canines as sentries, scouts, messengers and mine detectors.

Today, a couple hundred dogs are over in Iraq and Afghanistan with our troops and are working as patrol dogs and as explosives and drug detectors. An additional 2,000 dogs help with similar services at various U.S. baseas and operating posts worldwide.

Dogs have a unique ability to incite fear in an aggresor in a way humans rarely can. Dogs will defend to the end. A trained dog for military purposes actually can create a strong psychological deterrent. No one wants to mess with it.

So, on this noble day, please take a moment to honor and recognize ALL veterans…even those who bark!

Thank you.  And thanks to usmilitary.about.com for this insightful information.