FROM THE AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION…
Thanks to you, some of America’s bravest heroes — our military dogs — have come back to a hero’s welcome and a safe, loving home following a lifetime of service to their country.
With your help we’ve been able to bring home seven of these courageous canines in just the past four months and reunite them with their heroic handlers:
• MWD Cila and Sgt. Jason Bos, who served close to 100 missions in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• MWD Ryky and Sgt. James Harrington, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan from 2008 to 2011, working in front of a convoy to sniff out deadly IEDs.
• MWD Thor and Sgt. Deano Miller, who spent every moment in Afghanistan together identifying IEDs but had been separated since 2010.
• CWD Mariah and Sgt. Omar Peña, who forged a bond in Afghanistan that not only kept them safe on the battlefield, but also provided important companionship while not on patrol.
• CWD Boo and Cpl. James Hinton, who were such a great team identifying IEDs that Boo would often sniff out explosives without being given the command.
• CWD Cena and Cpl. Jeff DeYoung, who served together during Operation Moshtarak, considered the largest military operation in Afghanistan at the time.
• CWD Donna and Cpl. Joaquin Aranda, who counted on each other to survive the long cold nights in Afghanistan together.
In fact, each trained military dog saves the lives of an estimated 150-200 U.S. service men and women, and they deserve not only our respect but a good, safe retirement on U.S. soil.
But not every one of our four-footed veterans is so lucky. For a variety of reasons, some don’t get home to enjoy the happy, healthy lives they have so richly earned.
To change this and urge America and its leaders to bring home ALL our veterans — including those on four legs — please join us and three of the military hero dog teams you helped reunite on Capitol Hill tomorrow at 2:30 pm in the Cannon Building, Room 210, for an afternoon you won’t soon forget. We promise you will walk away with a new-found appreciation for the brave sacrifices made by the two- and four-legged warriors.
With gratitude,
Robin R. Ganzert, PhD
President and CEO
Leave a Reply