Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. It is a day that is set aside as a holiday in order to honor the war veterans and those who have died while serving for their country. It is a day of speeches and parades and gravesite visitations. Honor, appreciation and respect are words that come to mind when reflecting on those who have fought wars in the name of freedom.
However there is another war hero that has been too often forgotten about. They are the silent soldiers who serve out of love and trust, they are the War Dogs. War dogs serve right along side their handlers in the middle of battle. They are in the thick of war and unflinchingly put their lives on the line. The war dogs have served throughout time in all the recent wars and have died in the service of their country also.
However there is little or no mention of them on Memorial Day in the speeches or in the parades. They are taken for granted for what they do. But the war dogs are without ego and do not care about any of this. All they really want is to be with their handler during military service and after. But for all the work, the military puts into training the dogs, federal law ties the military's hands in protecting the canines afterward.
These dogs have survived running toward death and danger, but too many trained military dogs of war are not making it home. This is because there is a obscure federal rule technically classifying military canines as equipment, not personnel.
Animal advocates say that after war the dogs aren't guaranteed transportation back home or medical care after service. So any potential adopters would have to pay huge fees, many times in the thousands of dollars to pay those bills. The bureaucracy involved can be maddening also, often a year of red tape and unanswered phone calls.
Currently there is legislation to close the federal loophole, to instead classify war dogs as "canine members of the armed forces" instead of equipment. The legislation would require the military to ship the dogs home and allow nonprofits to help adopters foot the steep veterinarian bills. Unfortunately the bill is currently stalled in a gridlocked Congress. Hopefully soon this legislation will be passed so that these long forgotten canine war heroes will be given the only reward they really want - that of a loving home.
However there is another war hero that has been too often forgotten about. They are the silent soldiers who serve out of love and trust, they are the War Dogs. War dogs serve right along side their handlers in the middle of battle. They are in the thick of war and unflinchingly put their lives on the line. The war dogs have served throughout time in all the recent wars and have died in the service of their country also.
However there is little or no mention of them on Memorial Day in the speeches or in the parades. They are taken for granted for what they do. But the war dogs are without ego and do not care about any of this. All they really want is to be with their handler during military service and after. But for all the work, the military puts into training the dogs, federal law ties the military's hands in protecting the canines afterward.
These dogs have survived running toward death and danger, but too many trained military dogs of war are not making it home. This is because there is a obscure federal rule technically classifying military canines as equipment, not personnel.
Animal advocates say that after war the dogs aren't guaranteed transportation back home or medical care after service. So any potential adopters would have to pay huge fees, many times in the thousands of dollars to pay those bills. The bureaucracy involved can be maddening also, often a year of red tape and unanswered phone calls.
Currently there is legislation to close the federal loophole, to instead classify war dogs as "canine members of the armed forces" instead of equipment. The legislation would require the military to ship the dogs home and allow nonprofits to help adopters foot the steep veterinarian bills. Unfortunately the bill is currently stalled in a gridlocked Congress. Hopefully soon this legislation will be passed so that these long forgotten canine war heroes will be given the only reward they really want - that of a loving home.
VIDEO "The Forgotten Heroes".
Shame on my goverment on behalf of these brave dogs. They should be given the same benefits as the humans they are serving and protecting. Fix this now!
Someone had maked a beautiful video <3
All War Dogs should be brought back to America---they should be classified as Military personnel the same as our soldiers---they have hearts NOT engines or motors. They have kept our soldiers from harm and deserve to be treated well for their service to their country!
All War dogs should be brought back to America to live with their handler. They have kept our soldiers from harm and deserve to be treated well for their service to their country.
They deserve to come home with their human partners. Congress MUST reclassify them as soldiers and not simply unfeeling equipment!