VETERAN'S DAY

Today is Veteran's Day, a day to honor all those who have served in the military to defend our country, preserve our freedom and our way of life.

Lest we forget, we need to honor the members of our canine military as well. Since this is Adopt A Senior Pet month anyone considering adopting should also consider a canine veteran. Working as scouts, bomb locators and messengers our canine vets were generally left behind when their tour of duty ended. I know this happened during the Vietnam War. It was not uncommon to euthanize canine military until President Clinton signed a bill halting the practice in 2000.

Dogs of war are currently considered military surplus - property but the mindset is slowly turning towards viewing them as canine veterans. If you are thinking about adopting a military dog, please remember our canine vets are special dogs with special training; homes with small children and other pets may not be appropriate.

There are several websites with information about adopting a canine vet or assisting vets with adopting a canine companion:

http://www.militaryworkingdogadoptions.com/

http://petsforpatriots.org/

http://www.jbsa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123279665