Former Marine Corps Sgt. Deano Miller pauses in his war story, choking back tears.
"They said they'd give us time to say goodbye. They didn't," Miller says, looking down at his yellow Labrador. "It was like I was abandoning my best friend and he couldn't understand why."
Miller and his explosives-sniffing dog Thor spent every day of their 2010 tour in Afghanistan together. But when the tour ended in November 2010, Miller returned to the U.S. while Thor worked four more years before his retirement. The pair reunited in May.
There are more than 1,775 military working dogs detecting explosives, going on search-and-rescue missions, and guarding troops. In an average year, 300 to 400 dogs retire and are adopted. If they're not adopted, they are left in a kennel.
Some are adopted overseas and have to be flown home — at a cost to the adopter that can be thousands of dollars.
Miller wants the military to pay for transportation back to the United States.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
5 comments:
Bring em home.
I'd rather my tax dollars went to bringing these lifesaving dogs home than toward supporting a litter of welfare pups!
These dogs deserve Great Respect for helping save our guys/girls lives! They're treated like a
piece of dirt by the Goverment!
The American people should be up
in arms about this !!
All politicians should be notified
to make sure they work to get these animals home & safe!!
We went to a fundraiser at an American Legion to help bring a soldiers dog back home to him. These dogs have to be kept in quarantine for several months after coming back to the states. One of the soldiers there told us
how much these dogs have ment to the guys fighting the war. They are like their family & have saved many from being killed.
Because of the expense----most of
the soldiers can't afford to have
them shipped back to the States.
It has to rip their hearts out to
leave such a devoted companion who
would defend then to the very end!
Just another example of our Goverment neglecting what should be their responsibility to Americans!!
I see no reason why the enemy wouldn't give them a good home.
Just cut el dumbo & his families vacations in half and use that money to bring them home. Need more dogs than politicians anyway
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