Dogs in Service

My father was a pilot in WWII and Korea.  And while he survived with a single scratch from a piece of jagged metal when his plane was hit (which he used to joke about as his big battle wound), many of the men he served with did not.  And of course, all of the veterans, my father definitely included, bore different scars for the rest of their lives - the memories of what they had seen, what they had done and had done to them.  War, my father would wholly agree, is hell.  So I think this Memorial Day weekend, it is fitting to pause from my "army" and give a nod to the animals who serve.  And it's not just dogs, of course (who didn't see War Horse and come away in tears?), but since this is a dog blog, I'm concentrating mostly on dogs.

We grow up learning about heroes in battle.  We know the names McArthur, Eisenhower, John Basilone, Chris Kyle, and the list goes on.  But it's rare that our history teachers ever pause to teach us about the many animals in service, even today, who put their lives on the line and even make the ultimate sacrifice in war.  These aren't their conflicts.  They aren't concerned with territories and political ideologies.  Yet they serve side by side with their handlers, tirelessly and fearlessly, out of sheer loyalty.  I think it's not inappropriate therefore to take a few moments this weekend when we remember our fallen warriors to remember that not all of them were men or women, but animals as well.

Dogs serving on Iwo Jima

Serving in Iraq

Here are some articles for anyone interested in diving deeper into the subject of war dogs:

U.S. Military Dogs Being Honored for Their Service Overseas

Famous War Dogs in History

Cairo, the war dog

And let's not forget that dogs serve us at home as well.  For a brief time I wrote a Pittsburgh-centric blog, and I wrote about the Pittsburgh canine officer Rocco who was killed in the line of duty at the time.  Like thousands of us in this city (one of the reasons I love it here - it's more of a dog loving town than it might appear at a glance), I was deeply affected by it.   Dogs don't really ask to go into danger.  Rocco did his job out of his care for his handler.  For me, that's true heroism.

Finally, I don't want to forget a cause that's near and dear to my heart, which is therapy dogs for returning veterans.  My father was never far away from the horrors of the war.  He carried that with him all his life.   His generation didn't understand PTSD or have a great way to deal with it.  The men who were returned to civilian life were often on their own to deal with their demons.  My dad did pretty well, all things considered.  His navigator told me once about his brother, who ended up homeless, never able to recover from the trauma of the war.  Our veterans deserve better, I think we'd all agree, and dogs can be a large part of that.  I realize that programs are new and the research on their effectiveness even newer, but I of course believe in the healing power of dogs.  The fact that petting or playing with a dog helps relieve stress by releasing oxytocin, a stress relieving hormone, and decreasing the stress inducer cortisol is well documented.  And service animals have been employed to help humans with disabilities for over a century now.  So, it hardly seems a leap to believe that dogs can serve soldiers struggling with the mental ravages of war.  Currently, dogs receiving training and care for such work are from privately funded organizations.  The U.S. military does not provide therapy dogs at this time.  It is my fervent hope this changes, and that every returning soldier who needs a service dog can easily and affordably get and care for one.

I am grateful to all who have and continue to serve and protect.  That includes our brave soldiers on four legs.  Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are for those heroes too.