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!
Welcome to the Rx Program, Ivo!
We have supported our retired MWDs with Rx medications to the tune of $35,000 over the last three months. It is our honor to continue this vital program, which is only made possible through the generosity of our incredible supporters. Thank you to each and every one of you who gave whatever you could to our mission – we appreciate you more than you know.
Care Update for Retired MWDs
The steady increase in requests for help through our Emergency Care Program, has continued during the third portion of this year. We are proud to have supported 8 dogs with emergency surgeries and treatments through their home veterinary centers over the last three months, with the running total for this program now sitting at $133,979.
Stay tuned into our social channels for more stories from some of the dogs we’ve been helping recently through the Emergency Care Program and be sure to check out Kyra’s story, who found herself in mortal danger after eating a corn-on-the-cob husk. We covered the operation to save her, which saved her owner and former handler over $8,000.
We were honored to help Kyra out of a sticky spot, as part of our Emergency Care Program
A key part of our mission is to honor and recognise the service of MWDs with the US War Dogs Service Award. Any MWD retiring from service is eligible to receive the medal and certificate, which is not only our own way of thanking each dog for his or her service to our nation, but it also acts as a beautiful and lasting memento for their adopted families.
We’ve sent out 10 service awards over the last three months and last month, I was fortunate enough to present one in the fur, to MWD Anton, who retired out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Hie retirement ceremony gave chance for his kennel to celebrate his career and it was a very special moment to be able to honor him with the US War Dogs award. Good boy, Anton!
MWD Anton’s retirement ceremony featured the presentation of the US War Dogs Service Award, in recognition for his devotion to our country
Our Rainbow Bridge Assistance Program has supported 4 families through the darkest times of saying goodbye to their beloved retired MWDs. The program covers the cost of end-of-life care and cremation with the express intention of honoring that MWD to the very last.
We have made some upgrades to the program, including the provision of a personalized urn that includes photos and a quote from the poem, Guardian of the Night: “Remember me with kind thoughts and tales, for a time we were unbeatable.”
Active Duty K-9 Support
We are fortunate to have formed excellent links with kennels across the globe so that we can lend a hand at short notice when it comes to supplying quality care packages and specialized gear requests to help teams maintain operational readiness.
Across July, August and September, we have supported 8 kennels with care packages and gear requests and it gives us a huge amount of pride to be able to support teams to continue their mission to defend and protect our freedoms.
If we can be of service to any kennel – domestic or international – that is struggling to obtain gear or would like to receive our care packages, click here to learn more.
Our Supporters
As we focus our efforts on providing vital support to the K-9 community, we continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of our incredible supporters, who really do make everything we do possible. From individuals who donate as and when they can, to businesses who hold fundraisers for us and to our War Dogs Guardians, who have signed up to support us on a regular basis, we can’t express our gratitude enough. Thank you and god bless each and every one of you!
Our great friends at Pet Supermarket held their seventh annual fundraiser for us in July, encouraging their customers to donate to us at checkout counters in their 200 stores across 12 states. Not only did the campaign help to raise over $230,000 for our cause, it helped to raise the profile of US War Dogs to tens of thousands of customers. We can’t thank Pet Supermarket enough for their continued support and to everyone that donated to the campaign, we appreciate you more than you know!
Pet Supermarket’s 7th annual fundraiser for US War Dogs was a huge success
We were also thrilled to work with Banfield Pet Hospital’s Veterans Diversity Resource Group who sponsored one of the retired MWDs on the hospital’s Optimum Wellness Plan.
The K-9 selected to receive the sponsorship package is retired MARSOC multi-purpose canine (MPC) Peggy. Peggy is a combat veteran, completing two deployments in Syria and Iraq where she racked up over 300 hours of explosive detection and participated in 20 missions where she provided valuable assistance. Peggy was also the first MARSOC dog to attend military freefall school.
Now retired with her former handler, Josh, Peggy is enjoying family life and all the creature comforts that go with it. We are honored to support Peggy through our Rx Program and in collaboration with Banfield, we are thrilled to see Josh and Peggy receive this additional layer of support to keep Peggy happy and healthy during her well-deserved retirement.
Banfield celebrated Peggy’s service and welcomed her to their Woodbridge hospital, where they held a special ceremony before conducting her first consult.
Banfield Pet Hospital welcomed Peggy, who began her year-long sponsorship on its Optimum Wellness Plan
Spreading the good word of War Dogs
Members of our team love nothing more than going out to talk to willing audiences about the work of MWDs and the role that US War Dogs plays in their story.
I was fortunate enough to attend some fantastic events over the last quarter, to talk about the history of MWDs and their service, as well sharing some experiences from my K-9 career with specialized search dog (SSD), Lucca. Events this quarter have included:
- Addressing the American Kennel Club National Detection Dog Conference in Ohio.
The purpose of the conference is to develop a US-bred pipeline of detection dogs to support law enforcement agencies. It's a great program and the board of directors at the Dog Detection Task Force are steering a range of initiatives to encourage high quality puppies that can support our domestic entities. - A trip into the offices of Grace & Co in Curtis Bay, MD, to give the keynote speech at the inaugural event organized by Grace’s Veterans Employee Resource Group – GVETS.
- The Heart and Heroism evening in NYC, held by non-profit, Operation Warrior Shield: A fantastic organisation that offers holistic therapies to veterans with PTSD.
- The National Society of the Dames of the Court of Honor invited us to its 96th national conference in North Carolina, as US War Dogs has been chosen as the president, Mrs Edwin Hamilton’s charity of the year.
We’d like to thank everyone who invited us to events and speaking opportunities over the last quarter, to help us spread the word about our mission – we love getting out and chatting to people about MWDs!
It was great to spend time with Grace’s Veterans Employee Resource Group and talk to them about our mission
Get Involved!
There are some cool ways you can support our mission:
- Sign up to be a War Dogs Guardian and receive exclusive deals, news and opportunities, while contributing whatever suits your budget each month
- Purchase some bespoke swag from the War Dogs store, including our live collab with K9 Addicts
- ‘Like’ and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn
- Spread the word about our mission to handlers and families with retired MWDs so we can offer them our support
Thank you so much for being a part of this mission – we couldn’t do what we do without your love and support.
Until next time, thank you and K-9 leads the way!
