Honor Our Veterans By Adopting One

This Memorial Day, as you barbeque and gather with family to celebrate those heroes who have served, and those who have given their lives for this beautiful country of ours, I implore you to also consider the lesser known heroes: the military working dogs. These animals have a long history of placing their lives on the line daily as they sniff out bombs and guide soldiers through mine fields. They live, work, and often times die in service to our country and to those service members with whom they are deployed. 

Increasingly, these dogs are being retired due to signs and symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), much like the PTSD that human soldiers exhibit. And even more heartbreaking is that so often they are not retired, but simply reassigned to a new location. These working dogs are not immune to the stresses and horrors of war, and they suffer anxiety, fear, and depression, just like humans do. In fact, research has found that dogs display even more empathy than humans do, and so it would stand to reason that they could potentially be even more susceptible to emotional trauma. And the thing is, we place them in that position. They only go into war because they want to please us humans. That's how much love they have for us. They don't understand nationalism or patriotism. They simply want human companionship, and so are willing to do whatever we ask of them in order to please us so that we maintain that companionship.  They are truly selfless, unsung heroes. 

This Memorial Day, consider ways you can help these American soldiers. MilitaryWorkingDogAdoptions.com and Save-A-Vet.org are a couple of good places to start. Even if you can't adopt a dog, maybe you can make a small donation to these agencies.