Dog Hospital

This is coolbert:

From the Chicago Tribune today:

“Walter Reed for the dogs of war”

“State-of-the-art hospital opens in Texas for canines wounded in combat”

“SAN ANTONIO - - A new $15 million veterinary hospital for four-legged military personnel has opened at Lackland Air Force Base, offering advanced medical treatment for combat wounded dogs.”

“At the base, dogs working for all branches of the military and the Transportation Safety Administration are trained to find explosive devices, drugs and land mines. About 2,500 dogs are working with military units.”

“Dogs injured in Iraq or Afghanistan get emergency medical treatment on the battlefield and are flown to Germany for care. If necessary, they’ll fly on to San Antonio for more advanced treatment”

“The new hospital has operating rooms, digital radiography, CT scanning equipment, and intensive-care unit and rehab rooms with an underwater treadmill and exercise balls, among other features.”

Dogs as used by the U.S. military in war zones DO indeed perform amazing yeoman [dog] work.

Sentry dogs, attack dogs, sniffing out land mines, tracker dogs if properly trained with an individual also trained in tracking operations, etc. AND YES - - AT ABU GHRAIB PRISON - - USED TO INTIMIDATE DETAINEES DURING INTERROGATION!!



[The saliva of the dog is considered to be unclean to the Muslim, NOT the dog itself. A Muslim who has been touched by the saliva of a dog is considered to have been rendered unclean and not fit to make ritual prayer!! ]

It used to be if a dog, civilian or military, became injured in some manner, the usual course was “to put the dog down”! Euthanized! That is no longer the case. The level of care now available to canines is very impressive, veterinary services offering more or less the same degree of medical treatment for a dog that is available to a human!

[and you can’t even ask them, “where does it hurt?”]

“Working dogs usually enter training at 1 ½ to 3 years old, and most can work until they’re about 10”

The U.S. government does have a considerable investment in the canines. Housing, feeding, training, regular veterinary care, etc. Even with a dog, Uncle Sam wants to recoup the money spent on the critter.

And humane treatment is also a consideration? MOST [??] of the dog recruits are donated by civilians who might not “volunteer” their pet if they knew the animal was not going to receive good care?

coolbert.