U.S. War Dogs Association Message Forum
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http://www.causes.com/causes/335842-stop-military-war-dog-euthanasia-program/invitation?recruiter_id=181818743
Someone has started this. I would like to know if it is true or just a rumor.
kc9fxq
Bobby, I have seen this posted on FaceBook and I responded to this post.
To my knowledge there is no program to euthanize our Military Working Dogs. I have spoken with current and former Military dog handler, both here and in the Middle East. They have all said there is no such program
Most dogs when they reach the 9-11 years of age are retired. The dogs handler has the first choice to adopt their dog, if they can not due to redeploymeny then they would ask another handler. If that does not work out they then allow a civilian to adopt the MIlitary Working dog.
The only time that a Military Working dog would be euthanised is if the dog had terminal illness, such as cancel that was not curable.
Rest assure that our Military Working dog are fine and that the adoption program is doing well other then a few gliches here and there and thos issues are being attended to.
I hope this helps.
Ron,
All dogs may go to heaven, but all dogs do not go to a retirement center at Lackland Air force Base.
Last report that I had was that the kennel master, and the senior vet. where ever the dogs are house must do and evaluation, to determine if the dog is suitable for adoption or not.
If the dog is determined to be "not suitable" for adoption then it can be put down at that facility.
The real problem maybe that no one is looking over the activities of these facilities to determine that adoptable dogs are being added to the "master" adoption list.
Last I heard if you were otherwise qualified to adopt a MWD your name would be placed about 260 on the waiting list.
Not a perfect system yet, but much better that the "no" system we had 40 years ago.
Semper Fi
Perry C.Money
Perry
Yes, I know all of that. They do euthanize some of the dogs, where they are to aggressive to adopt out, but in general the program is working fairly well, with a few glitches here and there. We are working to get those glitches fixed.
Ron
Each military installation handles the "retirement" of their assigned dogs. When a dog comes up for disposition, whether it's due to medical or training issues, the owning unit completes a disposition package and if the dog was bite trained, that includes a "bite muzzle test" video and forms. This package is completed by the owning unit's kennelmaster, veterinarian and commander. The package is sent through a chain of command to the 341 TRS at Lackland AFB, TX. The package is reviewed for completeness, the veterinarians do their review (if it's a training issue then Evaluations does their review) and the included "bite muzzle" video/forms and veterinary records are reviewed by the behaviorist. The 341 TRS commander makes his recommendation of either "Excess", "not Excess" or "Return to Lackland AFB to be used as a training aid". That's what Lackland's responsibility is. Once one of these 3 decisions are made, the owning unit is notified and THAT owning commander makes the FINAL decision if the dog is adoptable or not. The 341 TRS commander makes the final decisions on dogs that belong to the 341 TRS (which is all dogs in training, used as training aids for student handlers, breeding program dogs). The vast majority of dogs are either transferred to law enforcement agencies (typically dogs under 5 years old) or adopted to dog handlers or the general public. Dogs that are euthanized are those with debilitating medical conditions or too aggressive to safely adopt. ALL dogs that leave the program in ANY fashion are reportable to Congress. This program is guided by PUBLIC LAW...
I think this started from a CNN article:
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/06/when-a-dog-isnt-a-dog/
Most of the dogs come back with their handlers. I think there are few dogs actually left behind -- but I don't have any specific facts one way or the other.
Yes, there are amendments from the original bill Clinton signed in 2000. These two are currently pending in the House and Senate. Please pledge support, they need to pass. The bills currently pending are HR4103 (House) and S2134 (Senate). This is the recent video by Anderson Cooper on CNN. Send to everybody you know.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/06/30/ac-lawrence-military-working-dogs.cnn
(for some reason I can't make the link live, so just copy and paste into the browser)
bravenet.com