Los Angeles CA
3-13-2024 9:14pm

K9 Veterans Day March 13

Reauthorization of the PAWS Act of 2021 has not occurred yet. Dogs are valuable to the active U.S. military as well as aiding veterans in need of emotional & physical support.

PAWS Act of 2021 - Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act. With funds appropriated for the period of fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024, $10,000,000 to carry out the program under this section.

March 13, 1942 was the beginning of the U.S. Army's K-9 Corps.  Dogs were now an offical part of the U.S. Armed Forces with the new War Dog Program.  It was the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) which began training the dogs.  War Dogs: The Birth of the K-9 Corps | Article | The United States Army

During World War 1 dogs were used by all countries involved in the conflict, in fact over a million dogs were part of the international conflict.  The U.S. discontinued training dog after WW1. According to History.com "The American Kennel Association and a group called Dogs for Defense began a movement to mobilize dog owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster Corps of the U.S. Army. Training began in March 1942, and that fall the QMC was given the task of training dogs for the U.S. Navy, Marines and Coast Guard as well."  The Day America's Dogs Went to War: Founding the K-9 Corps | SOFREP

Originally 30-32 dog breeds were accepted by the military. But many failed because of "excitability when exposed to noise or gunfire, disease, poor sense of smell, and unsuitable temperament".  Now the breeds used are limited to: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman Pinschers, Collies, Siberian Huskies, Malumutes and Eskimo dogs

During WW2, ninety percent of the dogs trained were used for Sentry Duty. Others served as  Scout or Patrol Dogs, Messenger Dogs, or Mine Dogs.    After World War II, the Military Police Corps took over responsibility for training military dogs.

The oldest memorial to War Dogs in the United States is at the Hartsdale (New York) Pet Cemetery. A War Dog memorial was dedicated in 1994 at the U.S. Marine Corps War Dog Cemetery on Guam.  It honors dogs who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.  Quartermaster War Dog Program - Army Quartermaster Foundation, Inc.

Civilian groups supporting canine enlistment in the military included Dogs for Defense and the American Kennel Association.  Today many people are supporting the efforts to provide dogs for veterans needing emotional and physical support. Such organizations include:

 Statistics:  

  • WW2 - 10,425 dogs trained 
  • Korean War - 1,500 dogs 
  • Vietnam War - 4,000 dogs (of which 281 were killed in action)
  • Current: Iraq & Afghanistan - 578 dog teams
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