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Everything You Need to Know About K-9 Veterans Day

Everything You Need to Know About K-9 Veterans Day


  March 13 is National K-9 Veterans Day, a day to reflect on and honor the service of American military working dogs (MWD).


  The date commemorates the day in 1942 when the US Army first began training dogs for specific military use. The US Army called the program the “K-9 Corps.” Before this date, it was reported the US Military had a very small number of dogs for service, most of which were utilized as sled dogs in Arctic regions. 


  After the attack on US Naval Base Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a group of civilians approached the US Army to convince them to use dogs for other purposes. This effort was formed under a coalition called Dogs for Defense, Inc (DFD). Many of the first working dogs for the military were donated from American families to serve as sentry dogs. 


  During the initial stages, the DFD was responsible for procuring, housing, and training the dogs. Although the volunteer effort was tremendous, the level of proficiency of the dogs varied based on the skill level of individual kennels across the country. On July 16, 1942, the Secretary of War directed the Remount Branch of the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) to procure, house, and train future working dogs for sentry duty and tactical missions. 


  Within the first year, the QMC had trained and equipped more than 1,800 working dog teams to patrol the coastline for potential German or Japanese submarine units. 


  Since WWII, US Forces from all branches have used military working dogs to help support their human counterparts. The working dog mission has continuously adapted to meet the greatest threat to US Forces at that time. In WWII alone, this mission for working dogs grew from sentry operations to tactical patrols, mine detection, messengers, and scout dogs. 


  The US MWD has continued to evolve and shift mission emphasis throughout each conflict of our nation’s history. The adaptability and potential capability of working dogs has made their presence and essential battlefield force multiplier. From the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Afghanistan, no unit was ever upset to have a dog around.


  Every year on March 13 we remember all our four-legged warriors’ selfless service, sacrifice, and lives they have saved. 


  K-9 Leads the Way!


  Sources:


  https://armyhistory.org/the-dogs-of-war-the-u-s-armys-use-of-canines-in-wwii/


  https://www.military.com/veterans-day/k9-veterans-day.html


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In Conversation With… US Army Veterinarian, Jim Giles The K-9 community is blessed to have a richness and diversity of the skillsets within it – and this is something that we at US War Dogs is always keen to spotlight. In this interview, we were honored to chat with former US Army Veterinarian, Jim Giles, about his career that spanned the height of Operation Enduring Freedom.  Jim helps us to peer behind the surgical curtain of what life was truly like for the professionals who were charged with saving our injured MWDs in military theater. He also introduces us to one of the MWDs whose story he is honored to be part of.
July 2, 2025
Talking War Dogs Q2, 2025 Update As we bid farewell to another busy three months, it’s my pleasure to give you a round-up of what we’ve been up to: From support provided to our active duty and retired K-9s, to spreading the good word of War Dogs at events and supporting important fundraising efforts that help us to continue our vital mission… Read all about it, right here! Supporting our MWDs Delivering our vital programs of support to our active duty and retired MWDs is at the very heart of what we do. Our team of volunteers help to facilitate life-saving veterinary care through our Emergency Care Program; sign up new dogs to the Rx prescription medications program and much more. During April, May and June we saw: 30 new Rx sign-ups Supported 19 dogs through our Emergency Care program, to the tune of $24,000 Sent out 13 MWD Service Awards, in grateful thanks and recognition for a career of service to our nation Supported six families through our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program, covering the cost of euthanasia, cremation and providing personalized urns to the families who wanted them We also spent in excess of $38,000 on Rx medications over the last quarter, alleviating the financial burden for the families of our retired MWDs and making sure they get the meds they need to stay happy and healthy. For every person and business who supports our mission, know that you are part of something very special!
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US War Dogs In Conversation With… National Service Animals Memorial Founder, Chair and Sculptor, Susan Bahary
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Your War Dogs Store
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A Final Update for 2024! The last three months of 2024 have been action-packed, with US War Dogs’ suite of programs providing well-deserved support for our K-9 community. A busy final quarter means that the overall care we’ve been able to provide this year has been incredible! Let’s dig into the details… Supporting Our Retired K-9 Heroes We’ve signed up 91 new retired MWDs to our Rx program and spent over $167,000 on treatments through our Emergency Care program. We are particularly proud of this program, as it was developed in response to the need arising from within the community and through conversations with handlers and adoptive families about the challenges they face.  Since rolling out this program last year, we’ve not seen a single Go Fund Me page for retired MWDs, needing support with treatments. This is something we are exceptionally proud of. Read more about some of the recipients of care through the program, like Rex, SSeneca and Gunner.
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In Conversation With… US Army dog handler and Purple Heart recipient, Alec Alcoser
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War Dogs Turns 25! As our big birthday year fast approaches, we have some very special dates for your calendar in 2025, as we look forward to celebrating our quarter-century in epic style.
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War Dogs Summer Our president, Chris Willingham, takes a look back at our work and our impact across July, August and September.  The last three months have been super busy for US War Dogs. Our vital support for the K-9 community continues to increase as word spreads further about who we are and what we do. We love nothing more than signing up new retired MWDs to our Rx Program and providing vital support when dogs and their families need it most, and this last quarter has been no exception. We were thrilled to welcome 18 new dogs to our Rx Program this quarter, including US Navy patrol and explosive detection dog (PEDD) Ivo, who retired with his former handler, Dan. Notorious as being the most aggressive dog in the kennels at NAS Lemoore, CA, six-year-old Ivo has become the model house dog in retirement, lounging and enjoying meeting new people. Ivo was retired with lumbar-spinal stenosis, so the provision of medications through the Rx Program will really help alleviate the financial burden for Dan and his family. Welcome to the pack, Ivo!
August 16, 2024
Volunteer Highlight: Kim Roberson The team at US War Dogs is almost completely made up of retired, honorably discharged or current serving members of K-9. Kim Roberson is the trainer at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. She takes excellent care of our social media and we are blessed to have her as part of the team. We chatted with Kim to learn more about her military service and experiences and why she chose to dedicate her precious free time to US War Dogs.
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