Last summer, Ken Ballinger, a K-9 officer with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, was conducting a training session with working dogs on a hot and humid New England day. For safety, Ballinger had arranged for two veterinarians and three paramedics to be on site. When the dogs were not working, they were resting in air-conditioned…
Chuck Rotenberry can talk about the virtues of others, both man and dog, at length. The Marines he served with during two deployments, Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011. How young they were. How eager. “To see what these Marines go through … they were hungry for it every day. Each day, they wake…
A platoon of volunteers packed toiletries, snacks, toys and treats for military personnel at the Purr’n Pooch Pet Resorts Tinton Falls location on Saturday. Plenty of Americans believe in supporting the troops – but few do what it takes to support all of the country’s military members, especially the four-legged ones. “I’m passionate about both…
AISERSLAUTERN, Germany — It was a warm, sunny day in July when Tomi sprang from the back of a van like a jack-in-the-box. He’s a bomb-sniffing dog, a high-energy Belgian Malinois. The only obvious sign of the shrapnel wound he had suffered the week before in Afghanistan was the red, white and blue cast on…
AFGHANISTAN – Service members at the only Role 3 Veterinary Hospital in Afghanistan continue daily care of animals to ensure military and contract working dogs get adequate attention during their deployments. Just like soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, MWDs and CWDs require routine and emergency medical care to complete their mission in the Afghanistan area…
By William “Bill” Wynne I learned a lot from my yorkie Smoky during my 18 months of combat in the SWPA and the Far Pacific during World War II. She made me grateful for all the Christmases after. In the unforgiving jungles of New Guinea, the coral rock Biak Island at the equator, the semi-tropical Luzon, and…
What dog lover wouldn’t smile at this photo of ecstatic Tactical Explosive Detection Dog (TEDD) Alex diving with unfettered joy into a sea of neon tennis balls? The balls were donated to the TEDD teams, stationed at FOB Pasab in Kandahar, by a family member. This generous individual sent nearly 3,000 tennis balls. While Alex…
U.S. Marines with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (MEU) law enforcement detachment View and Read More:
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras – Joint Task Force-Bravo is known as being a “team of teams,” where every branch of service within the Task Force plays a vital role in accomplishing the overall mission. The joint environment is readily evident in the JTF-Bravo Joint Security Force’s new K-9 unit, where three branches of service…
