U.S. Army says mishandled war dogs, will comply with call for reform
© REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo FILE PHOTO: U.S. soldiers take a break with sniffer dog during search operation in a brickyard near the city of Narhwan
In a report released on Friday, the Inspector General said that canine heroes, which saved the lives of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan while working with brigade combat teams to sniff out roadside bombs, were mistreated by the Army after they returned to the United States.
The report said that some dogs were left in kennels for up to 11 months, beyond a deadline for giving them away for adoption or re-using them in the military or other government agencies. It said they were mistreated through lack of care and attention, and others may have been put down.
In some cases, the report said, soldiers who wanted to adopt dogs with which they had worked were not told they had the right to do so. An investigation was started after soldiers who had handled the war dogs complained about their fate.
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For many of our bravest canine who served, their end is cruel and unnecessary. I was disgusted when I read this story.
There is a percentage of the population that has a complete lack of empathy for or feeling of connection to animals. I assume that some of that percentage is also reflected in the military.
At least the issue has been caught and publicized and the guilty may be forced to rectify the situation going forward.
It took a long enough. I have done more reading on this and they have destroyed hundreds of dogs that their handlers wanted. That is a crime.
yes it is.
WTF is wrong with these asswipes...
War after war we leave them behind or mistreat them. We left behind thousands of war dogs that saved untold US military in combat in Vietnam...They were considered ''surplus equipment''....
''Always Faithful'' a book written by Wm. Putney of the first Marine War Dogs in WWII....A brilliant book by Putney who was their Dog Company commander...The miltary wanted to destroy over 500 dogs because they felt that they could not be retrained to return to civil life. Captain Putney fought this and retrained all of the dogs except 4 that could not be retrained.
Photo of the Marine War Dog Memorial and cemetary on Guam...
Into the belly of the beast...The second battle of Guam, 1944...
Every one of those dogs is as brave as their handler.
I never knew that. That is horrible. These dogs are heros.
I plan on reading ''Always Faithful''. Thanks for the info.
This is sad. I hate to see these beautiful dogs mistreated
Especially after the thousands of lives that they have saved. It's really sad, Trout.
I totally agree, Trout. When I read this story, I didn't know if I was more angry or sad.