Angela Hill / Eyewitness News
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – It is an intense training program for both dogs and handlers. Not all dogs will make it, but those who do will be as important on the battlefield as any piece of machinery.
These military working dogs and their incredible sense of smell can find an explosive device in the ground, in a building, or in a car, saving whole platoons of soldiers.
And they are trained to patrol alongside their partners, protecting them and others from the enemy. These highly-skilled dogs are no longer looked at as 'equipment,' but rather fellow soldiers.
As these animals ultimately give their entire working lives to the military or to America, it's only appropriate they get the best veterinary care. And they get it at the Holland Working Dog Hospital, named after an Army veterinarian who died in the line of duty in Iraq.
Here over 900 dogs in various stages of training are cared for, from skin diseases to orthopedic surgery.
“This would be my intensive care unit,” said operations manager Master Sgt. James Smith, as he led a tour of the facility. He said everything in the building is state of the art.
“We can do electrocautery, orthroscopic, any type of orthopedic (surgery),” said Smith.
There is an MRI facility and a complete on-site lab. But it is the staff of veterinarians and vet techs who professionally and lovingly care for these dogs that is equally impressive.
It is the pat on the head, the watchful eye on a post-op patient, the sense of respect they have for these talented working dogs.
Any dog hurt in battle is first flown to Germany for initial care. But if specialty care is needed, the dog can get here within 72 hours.
But it isn’t just the physical that is addressed here; it is also the emotional state of these war dogs.
Dr. Walter Burghardt, veterinarian, psychologist and animal behaviorist, is leading the discussion on the issue of canine post traumatic stress disorder. Is it real? If so, what can be done to help the dogs?
“I literally got the smartest people I could find, in both human medicine, in research and in veterinary medicine,” he said.
The blue-ribbon panel made its first report last month, as data continues to be gathered.
Dr. Burghardt explained what he saw in one video sent from the front lines.
“The dog is trembling, in a crouched position. His ears are almost pinned back. They normally would be up and alert. You can almost infer a distressed look on that dog's face.”
In another tape, “the guy's got a camera on his helmet so he can get picture of the dog,” Burghardt said.
This dog has been trained to search vehicles.
“Normally, the dog, again because they love their work, is enthusiastic and would run up and check the vehicles out. And you can see although he wants to work he is not going up and using his nose on those vehicles; he is staying away from them,” Burghardt said.
He finally goes into the vehicle, but spends little time and doesn’t sniff around.
“Again, this is unusual.”
In yet another example, the doctor is sent a tape of a dog and his typical behavior: checking out a vehicle, sniffing with vigor.
A second tape is sent of the same dog, later checking another vehicle with a very different behavior.
“Look at the tail, tucked his ears are back, and he's almost backing away behind the handler.”
Is he afraid?
“Well, that’s the inference, but I can't ask him,” Burghardt said.
The goal at the vet clinic is always to get the animals back in the field where the work they do is so vital.
Some dogs can be helped. And for those that can’t, “at least we can get the dog out of harm’s way,” Burghardt said.
They are brought back home for treatment.
As the study of post traumatic stress disorder continues, so does the breeding program at the hospital for the next generation of military working dogs, born out of the need not to be dependent on foreign supplies. Hundreds of Belgian Malinois puppies have been born here. Roughly 50 percent go on to be soldiers; the other 50 percent become pets.
For the working dogs who don’t pass the tough military certification, 60 percent go to other law enforcement agencies. For dogs who have served their country and are ready to retire, there is an adoption program.
Adoption coordinator John Engstrom said there is a year and half long waiting list.
“I think there are a lot of people who are guided by patriotic feelings and understand the life of a military dog is not easy and that may motivate a lot of what they want to do,” he said.
That, perhaps, and the knowledge that these dogs are among the best of the best of the American military.
