National K9 Veterans Day

From the desk of our Veterinary Assisting department:

Don’t forget about all of the 4 legged heroes when being thankful for this wonderful country we live in. National K9 Veterans Day is celebrated on March 13^th, which was formed in 1942, on the official birthday of the US Army K-9 Corp calling themselves the Dogs of Defense.

After finding the use for dogs in the military, this then led to many other career paths for the handlers that work with them. First dogs in the military during WWI had been used for sentries and message carriers. Then as the training methods developed, they found the 4 legged companions could be used for many more lifesaving jobs to the military. Dogs started to be utilized on patrols, used for bomb detection, and security. Enemies of the US started to see how much the military had started to rely on these dogs and bounties had started to be placed on the heads of the dogs and the handlers during war time.

Today we also find that many of the dogs being used to help veterans are not all found in the battle field. These dogs are also being used for PTSD therapy dogs. They have great senses and with training of security in mind, they help many of our returning soldiers deal with many issues, from nightmares or just dealing with crowded areas, helping keep the human veteran secure in a state of mind. Most of us know how comforting it is to have a trusted 4 legged friends and most have not even been trained to do the work of these K9 veterans we look to celebrate each March 13^th. Happy National K9 Veterans Day!

David Salustri