Save-a-Vet Remembers The 'Forgotten K-9 Soldiers'

By: Kris Majdacic

On a U.S. base in Iraq, a military working dog named Dexter detected explosives in a semi, driven by a suicide bomber.  Dexter prevented the vehicle from entering the base and saved the lives of a thousand soldiers and an untold number of civilians within a quarter of a mile that day.

Working dogs like Dexter are used to sniff out explosive devices, perform search and rescue work, find illegal contraband, and provide personal protection.  While many soldiers and marines work with these dogs regularly, most civilians don't know that these dogs are saving lives every day.  Danny Scheurer, founder of Save-A-Vet and himself an Iraq veteran, calls these dogs “fellow soldiers.”

When Dexter, a 10-year-old German Shepherd, completed his six-year tour of duty in the Navy, his military canine handler contacted Scheurer to find a home for Dexter.  As a military working dog, Dexter and other canines like him have been trained to military standards.  Some have been trained to kill.  Ninety percent of the military working dogs cannot be adopted by a regular family because of their training or their injuries.  Their fate is to be euthanized.  “These dogs get the raw end of the deal,” Scheurer said. 

“His last handler got Dexter to us,” said Scheurer.  “Now Dexter is at one of our facilities.  He has hip problems, so he sees a chiropractor monthly.  He plays every day.  He even moved his own bed so he could sit in the sun.”

Founded in 2006-2007, the Save-A-Vet program finds a way to save military and law enforcement animals by providing retirement services for them.  The program's main objectives are to open a facility in every state that provides both military and law enforcement the ability to retire their K-9 partners; to hire retired, injured, and disabled military and law enforcement veterans to work at each facility; and to get these “forgotten soldiers” classified as veterans instead of equipment.“Because police dogs are already classified as officers,” Scheurer said, “we focus on the military working dogs.”

When police enforcement dogs finish their work, they are allowed to retire with their handlers.  In the military, the handlers serve for six months, but the dogs typically serve for six years.  When the dogs are retired, there is no single handler the dog could retire with.  Instead, a military veterinarian checks them out for injuries and signs of post-traumatic stress and to see if the dog was trained for any kind of aggression.  Dexter has very bad hips and was scheduled for euthanasia when an outcry was raised by both civilians and politicians to save him.

It would seem as if the Save-A-Vet program andthe military would be at odds, but that's not the case.  “The military is behind us and supports us,” Scheurer said.  “They don't know how to take care of canines, and there are no other programs like Save-A-Vet.  They want to make sure the program is a success and to make sure that we don't take the wrong steps.”

The Save-A-Vet program currently takes care of three retired canines on three small facilities in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin that were donated for this purpose.  The humans who take care of the dogs are the board members of Save-A-Vet. 

“We need a minimum of 15 acres of land for a pilot facility,” Scheurer stated.  “We're working with large corporations to find a sponsor, but land is most important.  We've got enough resources to get the construction done, which would open the door for grants,” Scheurer continued.

Scheurer's ultimate vision for Save-A-Vet is a secure condo facility in every state where disabled veterans could live, work and take care of retired working canines.  “If we take our time and do this right,” Scheurer said, “the dogs will be taken care of forever.”

Currently there are volunteers in 22 countries and 49 states.  The new web site for Save-A-Vet was actually donated by a volunteer.  In July 2009, Save-A-Vet held its second annual fund-raising “extravaganza,” which included a road rally, live music, and a kid's day pre-party.  Scheurer is active in attending events that help raise public awareness about working military and law enforcement dogs.  The web site address for Save-a-Vet is www.save-a-vet.org.

Kris Majdacic is a writer who lives in Glendale, Wisconsin.