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Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Happy Tails: Memorial Day tribute to dogs in service Thousands and thousands of dogs have given their lives for their handlers. Dogs have served in the U.S. military during every modern war - World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, in Bosnia, and in Afghanistan - as trackers, scouts, sentries, and messengers; as attack dogs, mine detection dogs, and rescue dogs. - PEG SCHAEFFER Next earlier Happy Tail: Happy Tails: May 19-25, 2013 is Dog Bite Prevention Week By Peg Schaeffer President and Founder, Sugarfoot Farms Rescue This is Memorial Day Weekend, a time to honor our soldiers who gave their lives defending our country. My father fought in World War II and my mother's first husband gave his life in that war. I grew up during the Vietnam War and my cousins served. I have a niece who is in the Air Force and there comes a time that she might be sent overseas to defend our country. I'm sure everyone reading this knows someone who has gone to war to protect us. But do you realize how many dogs have served in the armed forces and how many lives they have saved? Thousands and thousands of dogs have given their lives for their handlers. Dogs have served in the U.S. military during every modern war--World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, in Bosnia, and in Afghanistan--as trackers, scouts, sentries, and messengers; as attack dogs, mine detection dogs, and rescue dogs. The dogs are credited with saving thousands of American lives and great acts of heroism. Some military analysts estimate as many as 10,000 U.S. and allied lives were saved during the Vietnam War alone. Dogs were first used in the United States as messengers during the Civil War. By the early part of the twentieth century, most European countries used dogs in their armies. During World War I, the Germans trained 30,000 dogs to act as messengers and rescue workers to locate fallen soldiers. French and Belgian forces used dogs as sentries and messengers. The U.S. opened its first military dog training center in July 1942. The dogs were donated by patriotic citizens, and the dog handlers were military personnel who volunteered because they loved dogs. Unofficially known as the K-9 Corps, dog and handler acted as a team, and the dogs that survived returned home to their families. That tradition was broken in Vietnam. More than 4,000 dogs were procured by the government and sent to Vietnam to serve as scouts, sentries, and mine and tunnel detectors, and in search-and-rescue missions. Although only 281 were officially killed in action, only about 200 returned to the United States. Army veterinarians euthanized many; many more were simply abandoned, and in all likelihood wound up as dinner for starving Vietnamese villagers. The dogs that served in Vietnam were essentially characterized as equipment and left behind. Not much thanks for dogs who saved 10,000 lives. SEAL Team Six, the elite military operatives who killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan were accompanied by one canine companion. "The capability they [the dogs] bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine," said Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. "By all measures of performance, their yield outperforms any asset we have in our industry. Our Army would be remiss if we failed to invest more in this incredibly valuable resource." The dogs are a fighting force on four legs that are able to parachute into action, rappel into combat and swim into a skirmish. They are outfitted with protective body armor and a powerful bite. According to the U.S. Air Force, the bite from a German shepherd, one of the breeds used by the military, has a force between 400 and 700 pounds. While its bite may be impressive, it is a military dog's exceptional ability to detect bombs that makes it indispensable to soldiers. They've spent millions of dollars trying to come up with the best bomb detection technology. After all that money and all that time devoted to it, they've come to the conclusion that in fact a dog and a handler best any technology on the ground today. Last year, at a cost of more than $20,000 per unit, the SEALs bought four tactical vests for their dogs. The vests are reported to have infrared and night-vision cameras that allow handlers to use a monitor from up to 1,000 yards away to see what the dog sees. The handler is also able to communicate with the dog through a speaker on the vest. There are upwards of 3,000 dogs deployed and that using dogs in war is nothing new. So when you are honoring fallen heroes from the war don't forget the four legged heroes who have given their lives to protect their humans and our country. Happy Memorial Day to Everyone and thank you to all our veterans who gave their lives for our country - Peg Schaeffer Contact us if you would like to help. Peg Schaeffer, Sugarfoot Farm Rescue, 860 Sparksville Road Columbia, KY 42728 www.sugarfootfarm.com peg@sugarfootfarm.com Home telephone: 270-378-4521 Cell phone: 270-634-4675 This story was posted on 2013-05-26 06:45:25
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More articles from topic Happy Tails by Peg Shaefer:
Happy Tails: May 19-25, 2013 is Dog Bite Prevention Week Happy Tails: Mothers Day is for all mothers Happy Tails: Is this the dog for you? Happy Tails: Seniors and Seniors Happy Tails - Foxless fox hunting Happy Tail: Rescue operators have to have room in their hearts Happy Tails: Easter is Anniversary of move to Columbia Happy Tail: The 1,000 Mile Journey to a New Home - Sky Happy Tail: Things happen for a reason - Allie & Monty Happy Tails - Kids and Dogs View even more articles in topic Happy Tails by Peg Shaefer |
 
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