
Armed Forces Day – Honor our Canine Military Heroes
We have so many heroes to honor on this day, our men and women who are taking care of our country (whether home or abroad) and the canines who also work so hard to keep us safe. It’s amazing to read some of the stories about their courage and willingness to be right there with their master while working to protect us all. They deserve our respect also as they have saved many human lives when duty calls them.
In addition to the military canines, we have the wonderful service dogs who take care of retired veterans in need once they return home. These are also highly trained dogs, willing to be there for their master when he/she needs them the most. Dogs have been there for the blind, hearing impaired or wheelchair bound veteran for some time, but now they are helping with other injuries – and even PTSD.
A trained service dog is a joy to see working closely with its master – and it is amazing what they can be trained to do. Here in southeast FL we are working with the retired racing greyhounds and preparing them for a second career. Once their days as an athlete are over, many of them don’t want to be “couch potatoes” – they are sill energized with the work ethic – and make excellent service dogs for mobility assistance, PTSD and other related disorders.
Service Dogs 4 Service Men is presenting its first trained dog, HERO II, to his veteran on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We are pleased to have the Palm Beach Kennel Club sponsor the ceremony for the presentation. It’s a win- win situation – another good home for a retired racer and a helpful companion for the veteran.
Tags: dog, holidays, Index, servicedogs, servicepets
Thank you for the amazing work you are doing, Barbara! This was a wonderful post. I am so excited to hear more about HERO II and his adoption. Thanks for sharing!
Nice piece, Barbara. I”m posting a link to it in the Greyhound Articles Facebook page. Everyone should know about this program!
This is so awesome…It seems we usually hear horror stories about retired racing greyhounds, and I am so thrilled that there are rescue groups who are reaching out to them, but this is a win-win for both dogs and veterans. Kudos to all those who work with these wonderful service dogs!
Thanks for the information, Barbara! It is important to recognize and honor everyone who keeps us safe this memorial day, human and animal. I was lucky to be involved in helping a police dog last summer – you can read about his story here: http://tinyurl.com/SPD-Long and vote for him in the Hero Dog Awards here: http://tinyurl.com/3p86jdr
It”s awesome to see HERO II being adopted! I recently wrote a blog post honoring Military War Dogs for Memorial Day.
http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com/blog/memorial-day-tribute-war-dogs/
Thank you Pet Health Central! http://t.co/V5yA25Za
One of my Greyhounds was my service dog from 2000 till 2008. (He wouldn’t stop working) I had to have him put to sleep in 2009 and have wanted another Greyhound as a service dog ever since.
Congrats to the Vets who get the love and support of a Greyhound as a service dog.