Today in the United States we observe Memorial Day honoring our fallen heroes from all our wars. (Even one war is too many, I think.)
I am reposting this story from 2012 on Soldier Dogs. Those wonderful animals who were selected to serve our country along side our soldiers and performed, and still perform, an invaluable service to our nation.
From FastCompany:
These are some images from the book Soldier Dogs: The Four-Legged Heros of Iraq and Afghanistan and a quote:
Military Working Dogs play a crucial part in America’s armed services. The best known “Soldier Dog,” Cairo, put crucial canine skills to work in the SEAL Team Six operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. Other Military Working Dogs serve as everything from bomb sniffers to troop companions to search and rescue dogs (and also serve in darker roles, such as duty at Guantanamo Bay). Their handlers and trainers, devoted dog lovers down to a man, form an unusually close-knit fraternity within the military.
I know exactly what White meant when he said this. In the beauty of the autumn days, it is almost impossible to concentrate on the tasks at hand and not just want to grab a leash, some water, and a day pack and head out into the woods or along the river. It is on days like this, when the air is crisp and cool but not yet cold, when the sky is bluer than blue and the clouds hang in the distance like fluffs of cotton that were placed there just for my observation, that I am forced, by my thirst for connection to mother earth and all her creations, that I stop saving the world and just bask in the gift of the day.
DogDaz Zoo 