Here is a great photo essay from Foreign Policy Magazine. You might have heard that there is specualtion that man’s best friend accompanied soldiers during the recent Osama Bin Laden take down. Apparently K-9’s have been hard at work with America’s military and even part of the Airborne since the 1930’s.
So….I hate to state the obvious from the pictures….but who pull’s Fido’s parachute string? Just asking.
I believe that the dog in the photo didn’t jump very far and merely landed in the water. As you can see the “soldier” isn’t wearing a parachute either. Some chutes are hooked to a line in the plane and the cords are pulled when the individual jumps from the plane. There are other photos of dog handlers holding their dogs toro to their chests as they parachute through the air! The pup in the photo is wearing a mussle to keep him from biting himself on landing. Click on the links assocated with the photo. There are lots of fabulous military dog photos.
If you think about it, its only logical that man has been using dogs in warfare since he domesticated them. Why wouldn’t you bring someone with better vision, hearing, and scent than yourself to battle? The ancient Egyptians are documented as using them in warfare. I know that the U.S. used them as far back as the Seminole Wars before the Civil War.
I would have loved to have been a miltary dog handler. Alas my siberian husky is just a little sweet Tater.
Great endorsement on the dogs’ life vest. (Have I been working for the government too long?)
Wayman Wynn and all the folks in Dogs in Government celebrate ALL our warriors. Aarroo!
#NewRule – Breeds that the military and police units use are now known as American Hero dogs