Military dogs need food in Iraq

[sammy101]

crossposting...

Soldier Begging For Dog Food For Deployed Dogs
Commander Says Dogs Live Off Scraps And Garbage

POSTED: 2:58 pm EST January 5, 2005

LAS VEGAS -- The commander of an Army Reserve detachment is begging friends back home to send food for Iraqi police dogs.

"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Capt. Gabriella Cook, commander of the Las Vegas-based 313th Military Police Detachment, said in a Dec. 28 e-mail reported Wednesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"Some of them have already died," Cook wrote. "Half of them are sick. We have no way of buying actual dog food here."

Cook's unit arrived last month in the Iraq capital. She said 12 German shepherds and one black Labrador retriever trained for bomb-detection and attack at the Iraqi Police Academy in Baghdad have been eating table scraps and garbage.

"It seems like an emergency situation," Diana Paivanas, a Henderson pet-care provider and Cook's friend, told the Review-Journal. "Something needs to be done now to save these dogs."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a veterinarian, directed a legislative aide to contact an Army liaison to investigate, a spokesman for the senator said. But when contacted Wednesday, his office said they were unsure where to send donations and that they are looking into it.


Military officials at the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad did not immediately respond to the newspaper's request for information about the food supply for U.S. canines in Iraq.


Paivanas said she found it costs about $50 to mail a 30-pound bag of dog food to Cook.

Henderson Veterinarian Terry Muratore estimated that each of the 13 working dogs would consume a 40 pounds or more of dry food per month.

"If securing the country entails having security dogs that are healthy, then we should do that," Muratore said. "Surely there's space on a C-130 to get a pallet of dog food over there."



If you would like to help feed the dogs, you may send checks to the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society. They are working with several companies to ship food to the animals as soon as possible.

"PetSmart has donated a pallet of food, and we hope PetCo will do the same," Judith Ruiz, president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society said.

Ruiz said several companies have donated food and that with the money, the Humane Society will be able to buy more dog food at a discounted rate and will also pay for shipping to Iraq.

"All funds will go directly for the animals," Ruiz said.

The Humane Society is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization. So your donation will be tax deductible.

Send donations to:

Las Vegas Valley Humane Society
Funds For Dogs In Iraq
2250 E. Tropicana
Suite 19
Las Vegas, NV 89119


Make checks payable to the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society. The group asks that you indicate in a letter or on the check that you want your donation to go to the dogs in Iraq.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc.


http://www.click2houston.com/news/4...tml?sidebar=ots

[lizbud]

Pretty poor planning to send these working dogs over there
and not provide enough food for them. Thanks for the info
and address to send help.

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by lizbud
Pretty poor planning to send these working dogs over there
and not provide enough food for them. Thanks for the info
and address to send help.

I think that these dogs are from the area and being trained as Bomb Sniffers....

I may be wrong......

[lizbud]

Richard,

What, Iraqi dogs don't eat ?

It should not matter where they came from, they are working
members of the U.S. forces and they give their all protecting
human lives. I agree with this Vet's statement.


Henderson Veterinarian Terry Muratore estimated that each of the 13 working dogs would consume a 40 pounds or more of dry food per month.

"If securing the country entails having security dogs that are healthy, then we should do that," Muratore said. "Surely there's space on a C-130 to get a pallet of dog food over there."

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by lizbud
Richard,

What, Iraqi dogs don't eat ?

It should not matter where they came from, they are working
members of the U.S. forces and they give their all protecting
human lives. I agree with this Vet's statement.


Henderson Veterinarian Terry Muratore estimated that each of the 13 working dogs would consume a 40 pounds or more of dry food per month.

"If securing the country entails having security dogs that are healthy, then we should do that," Muratore said. "Surely there's space on a C-130 to get a pallet of dog food over there."

I may be wrong, but I thought you said that the dogs were SENT there.

My point is that any dogs that are attached to a military unit are cared for BETTER than the soldiers... The US gov't. WOULD NEVER send trained dogs to an area without support. They are WAY TOO VALUABLE to let them go hungry.

My point was not about the food.

My point was that these are dogs from the area and there is no infrastructure to support them in their jobs.

I think you may have assumed that GWB, in all his evil persona, sent those dogs over to Iraq.


Can I send my donation in YOUR name?

[lbaker]

My impression is that these Iraqi dogs, owned trained and deployed by Iraqi Police Units were found in that pitifull condition after US troops arrived. These dogs need food, not politics. It appears to be the US troops that are upset about the situation and are trying to correct it. Perhaps it shows the innate care most people in the US have for animals. Not to say the Iraqi's wouldn't under normal circumstances but I doubt their circumstances have been "normal" for many years.

[lizbud]

Help rolls in for hungry dogs

Many answer reservist's pleas for canines working with Iraq police

By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL



A Las Vegas Army Reserve captain's plea for dog food to feed starving Iraqi police dogs received widespread response Wednesday, including that of a local sports handicapper who donated $5,000.

Citizens from as far away as New Hampshire and Florida expressed their concern and support.

The Las Vegas Valley Humane Society, a nonprofit rescue organization, spearheaded an effort to accept cash donations and explore ways to ship to a Baghdad, Iraq, police academy thousands of pounds of dry dog food donated by businesses and residents.

That's where Capt. Gabriella Cook's 313th Military Police Detachment is stationed and where Cook has sought help for 12 German shepherds and a black Labrador retriever through a series of e-mails to pet-care provider Diana Paivanas and others.

In an e-mail Wednesday, Cook told Paivanas the dogs have helped U.S. soldiers sniff out explosives in a building.

As news about the starving dogs spread Wednesday, Ruiz and Paivanas said they had received calls from concerned residents of New Hampshire, Florida, Kansas, Texas, Arizona and Idaho who wanted to help.

Late Wednesday, professional sports handicapper Wayne Allyn Root handed a $5,000 check to Judith Ruiz, president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society, to help the relief effort for Iraqi police dogs.

"This is a little blessing from God," Root, 43, told Ruiz as he handed her the check at his Henderson home.

"The gaming community in Las Vegas is a very generous community."

Root, chairman and chief executive officer of GWIN Inc., said he was motivated to help because his 7-year-old German shepherd, Maverick, comes from a bloodline of police dogs from Holland.

"I've had dogs for 20 years, and I love dogs," he said.

Cook had sent a Dec. 28 e-mail to the Review-Journal, stating that dog food was unavailable in Baghdad and that the explosive-sniffing and attack dogs were surviving on table scraps and garbage.

"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food. Some of them have already died. Half of them are sick," she wrote.

Ruiz said she is working with airline freight companies and the Air Force to get pallets of dog food sent to Baghdad. She said she hopes some smaller quantities can be sent soon.

Paivanas said she needs a place to store the donated dog food.

Meanwhile, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., directed her chief of staff, Richard Urey, to contact an Army congressional liaison official to pin down facts on police dogs in Iraq and detail steps the Army will take to eliminate deficiencies.

Similarly, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a veterinarian, directed a legislative assistant to contact an Army liaison to investigate.

A military spokeswoman at the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad, Sgt. Melissa King, said officials there are still trying to gather information about the Iraqi police dogs to answer questions posed by the Review-Journal on Tuesday.

Donations to the relief effort can be made by contacting the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society on its Web site, www.lvvhumane.org; by fax at 435-9518; or by mail at 2250 E. Tropicana Ave., Suite 19, Las Vegas, NV 89119.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[lbaker]

Thank you LizBud... it may sound like a small thing, compared to some other horrors in the world around us, but one small sigh of relief can make other horrors more tolerable sometimes. Thanks for the quick update.

[RICHARD]

http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50...9/K9History10/

[jackiesdaisy]

Hi Richard, I see you are still at it, lol, you keep everybody in line. lol
Jackie

[lizbud]

Originally posted by jackiesdaisy
Hi Richard, I see you are still at it, lol, you keep everybody in line. lol
Jackie

[moosmom]

I've made a copy of the post. I plan on making more copies and taking them around to all the pet stores in my area to encourage them to donate food. It's the least we can do for these courageous animals.

[Edwina's Secretary]

My point is that any dogs that are attached to a military unit are cared for BETTER than the soldiers... The US gov't. WOULD NEVER send trained dogs to an area without support. They are WAY TOO VALUABLE to let them go hungry.

[lbaker]

Don't you GET IT ya'll? HI Jackie! Is that you? It must be. I've missed you! I'll be in SD in July, can I come see you and yours? I've been wondering about you and your dear mutts. My bro now lives in OB instead of MB so I'll try to hook up. Love hearing from you again.
Laurie

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary

From the link I posted..


Military Working Dogs are purchased from American breeders (80%) and from selected foreign breeders (20%). The average cost is $4,000 per dog. Male and female dogs are accepted but females must be spayed.

----------------------------------------------------------

Buyers will go to Germany in July (2001) to buy new breeding stock, which can cost up to $10,000 per dog. Quality is the most important consideration when buying dogs, said Capt. Anthony Maisonet, 341st Training Squadron director of operations and foster parent of Dugan, a puppy from one of the litters. The 341st TRS trains military working dogs and their handlers.

"It's a considerable investment because it's for a lifetime of work," said Captain Maisonet.
--------------------------------------------

Formal funding for the breeding program began in 2000 and will continue through 2005. On average, it costs about a $420,000 per year to run the program, according to the major. He says the funding and the whelping kennels are the first steps toward making the breeding program permanent and making the Department of Defense dog program a more effective one.

All at the 341st TRS agree there is still a lot of work to be done.

"Breeding puppies is the easy part," said Captain Maisonet. "Raising them and training them is what is difficult. We want to make sure we're doing it right, and that's always a challenge."

----------------------------------

A friend of mine was attached to a 'Global Weather' (Spy satellite)
section in the A.F. Dogs were used by the guards to patrol the flight line at the air force base where he was stationed. The handlers were very protective about their charges......

They treated the dogs better than they treated each other.