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Military Service Dogs Essay

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Military Service Dogs

Service dogs are mostly thought as helping disabled people. For example, service dogs can help blind people as well as those who may be wheelchair bound. Service dogs are not only used for people that are disabled but they are used in the military. These military service dogs are sometimes called war dogs. There are about 2500 dogs in active service today and about 700 deployed overseas. These dogs are the only ones that can be trained to perform certain tasks in the military. Some of these tasks are sniffing out mortars, bombs, and drugs. They also protect their fellow troops on bases around the world. Their training begins at Joint base San Antonio- Lackland, TX.
Dogs have been in combat with US soldiers during …show more content…

Several different breeds have shown patriotic heroism over the years. Many branches use the highly trainable Labrador Retriever. The US Navy SEALS use the Belgian Malinois, a breed similar to the German Shepherd, but smaller. These dogs are incredibly compact and fast with a sense of smell 40 times greater than that of a human. Their small stature make them ideal for parachuting and rappelling missions with their handlers. The SEALS were accompanied by a Belgian Malinois named Cairo during their raid on Osama Bin Laden in 2013.
Military service dogs, much like their handlers, can suffer the loss of their handler and vice versa. If a war dog was lost in combat, he or she is honored by the entire troop. Feeding dishes are representatively placed upside down and a poem called “Guardians of the Night” is read in their honor. Before November 2000, dogs were euthanized and or abandoned after they retired. When President Clinton passed “Robby’s Law” in November of 2000 it allowed handlers and their family’s first dibs at adopting military animals at the end of their useful service. The dogs are next offered to law enforcement and then allowed to the public. Organizations like Save-a-vet place these retired heroes with suitable families and ensure they are given the honorable discharge they

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