Wyden bill seeks to bring military combat dogs home

2015-06-16T13:43:40-04:00

Originally published on ktvz.com:
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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced legislation Wednesday to support veterans and military dog handlers by ensuring that military working dogs come home to the United States after they have been relieved from their service in combat roles overseas.

The Military Working Dog Retirement Act of 2015 would require the Department of Defense to arrange and pay for transportation of trained military dogs to the United States when they are injured or their service abroad has been deemed no longer necessary.

Currently, military working dogs are often left for adoption in the country where their service ends. Handlers and veterans who wish to reunite with their dogs generally have to cover the costs of bringing them back to the United States.

“The bond between these military working dogs and their handlers is unique,” Wyden said. “By bringing these dogs that have served alongside our men and women in uniform back to the United States, this bill can provide assistance to veterans while supporting the close bond between these dogs and our soldiers returning home.”

The Defense Department estimates there are about 2,000 dogs currently working in the various branches of the military. United States military dogs are used in combat to sniff for roadside bombs and other explosive devices. Retired military dogs can require special care upon retirement and trained handlers often can best accommodate those unique needs.

Paws Assisting Veterans Service Dogs (PAVE), headquartered in Cornelius, Oregon, helps train service dogs for veterans who return to the United States with mental or physical disabilities and works to inform the public about the benefits working dogs can provide. Michelle Nelson, founder of PAVE and a certified professional dog trainer, expressed support for the bill introduced today.

“Military working dogs have put their lives on the line for our military and deserve to be transported back to the U.S. to be reunited with their handlers,” Nelson said. “It is high time to acknowledge and honor the work these dogs do for and with our military.”

http://www.ktvz.com/news/wyden-bill-seeks-to-bring-military-combat-dogs-home/33384262

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 16 at 2015 1:48 PM

2015-06-16T13:48:45-04:00

Finally! I have seen too many reports of soldiers trying to bring their "team members" home only to meet with a mountain of red tape.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2015 2:26 PM

2015-06-16T14:26:27-04:00

Wow, I never realized the dogs get left in country. I was told they get assigned to a duty station rather than a specific handler, so they could have multiple handlers across their service. I assumed they all came back, maybe deployed again in the future, and then at the end of their service were put up for adoption.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2015 3:03 PM

2015-06-16T15:03:22-04:00

Weird. Every MWD I've ever met has always rotated back home. Maybe not with the same handler they came with but I've never heard of one being left in country since Vietnam.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 17 at 2015 2:20 AM

2015-06-17T02:20:36-04:00

How often does this (leaving the dogs overseas) actually happen? Every story I've ever read has said that these dogs come home. Something doesn't seem right here.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2015 8:17 AM

2015-06-17T08:17:59-04:00

I would need to see the actual statistics on the amount of MWDs that are left overseas. Are they talking about Dogs that are retired in Operating Bases in Coalition countries?

This sounds like another useless act and an attempt by our Elected Officials to look like they actually care about the military.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 4 at 2019 5:29 PM

2019-08-04T17:29:17-04:00

WOW