Day: February 21, 2010

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Important to us


I just put up a new page at my Foundation’s website with topics of special meaning. Named “Important to Us” it will be the place where I delve into varied topics, dog and non-dog related.

My first new topic is about WAR DOGS and includes my review of military dog historian and author, Mike Lemish’s, new book on military working dogs, entitled, Forever Forward: K-9 Operations in Vietnam.

Jessica Ravitz, a CNN reporter, has a great article about War Dogs [War dogs remembered, decades later], which should be read in its entirety. It includes some powerful stories, especially that from Fred Dorr, now president of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association.

Maybe it was the sound of the wind cutting through the wire. Perhaps he caught a small vibration with his keen eyes. Or it could have been a slight difference in the air’s smell. Whatever it was, when Sarge noticed that his Marine Corps handler, Fred Dorr, was creeping down the wrong path in the Vietnam jungle, the German shepherd did something he’d never done out in the field: He looked at Dorr and barked, before taking a seat.

“When he sat down, I knew there was a trip wire. I was one step away from it,” remembered Dorr, who with his dog in 1969 was “walking point,” leading the way for a dozen soldiers. Had the hidden explosive device been tripped, “It would have gotten half of us.”

. . .

For Dorr, of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association, this has been a blessing. He said leaving his partner Sarge behind, all those decades ago, haunted him. “A lot of us [handlers] suffered PTSD,” he said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. “It’s like leaving your kid back there.”

But he now has Bluma, the war dog he adopted from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The German shepherd, who has hip problems, looks uncannily like Sarge, he said, and having him around is a source of comfort. “I’m taking care of an old vet,” Dorr said, “and he’s taking care of me.”

Whatever it was, when Sarge noticed that his Marine Corps handler, Fred Dorr, was creeping down the wrong path in the Vietnam jungle, the German shepherd did something he’d never done out in the field: He looked at Dorr and barked, before taking a seat.

“When he sat down, I knew there was a trip wire. I was one step away from it,” remembered Dorr, who with his dog in 1969 was “walking point,” leading the way for a dozen soldiers. Had the hidden explosive device been tripped, “It would have gotten half of us.”

For Dorr, of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association, this has been a blessing. He said leaving his partner Sarge behind, all those decades ago, haunted him.

“A lot of us [handlers] suffered PTSD,” he said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. “It’s like leaving your kid back there.”

But he now has Bluma, the war dog he adopted from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The German shepherd, who has hip problems, looks uncannily like Sarge, he said, and having him around is a source of comfort.

“I’m taking care of an old vet,” Dorr said, “and he’s taking care of me.”

Dogs have long served with the U.S. military, said Lemish, who also wrote “War Dogs: A History of Loyalty and Heroism.” During World War I, the dogs borrowed from the French and British worked as messengers and assisted the Red Cross by finding the wounded on battlefields, he said. The American K-9 corps, Lemish said, really began during World War II, when, among other tasks, thousands of dogs donated by civilians patrolled shorelines.

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Sunbear Squad Watch Tip of the Week: Feb 21st

The Sunbear Squad has resolved to make a difference for neglected and abused companion animals. They are transforming animal lovers into animal welfare defenders — with knowledge, tools, and inspiration.

URGENT Watch Tip: Watch for “outside” pets during cold winter months. They need more food to maintain weight. Winter fur can minimize the signs of starvation. Can you see a hump protruding above the rump? Could it be hipbones? Talk with the owners or call the authorities today to save a life. Be a Good Samaritan for animals.

Be Sunbear Squad Informed
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From Anna Nirva, Sunbear Squad Founder

Food bowls look full but the dog or cat is starving in winter? Yes!
Sometimes the owner thinks that their dog or cat “just doesn’t eat much in winter.” Ask if the bowls are metal. Bowls should be plastic, and better yet, be electrically heated. If metal bowls are used outside, tongues can freeze to the bowls. After an animal has had that painful experience, they may stop eating from the same bowl. Moreover, kibble can freeze just like the water will. If the kibble is a frozen inedible lump stuck to the bottom of the bowl, the hungry dog or cat will attempt to knaw on it. Knawing and licking frozen food lumps and ice in the water bowl lowers the body temperature. The risk of hypothermia always increases with dehydration and starvation–a winter triple-threat. That hungry, thirsty animal can freeze to death in only moderately cold temperatures, especially if very young, very old, or sick.

Twice-daily feeding and watering is required in winter, along with increased amounts of food. But if the food and water bowls look full, they may not be replenished enough. And because winter fur covers the body, who will discern that the dog or cat is in serious danger? Please watch your neighborhood for outside or chained companion animals in winter. Look and look again, and always take action if you see hipbones or a narrow waist. If not you, who?