This Veterans Day American Humane is co-hosting a special event to honor the service and legacy of K-9 veterans and their handlers. Together with the USS Constitution Museum, American Humane is hosting a free, virtual panel on the past, present and future of Military Working Dogs.
American Humane has worked alongside the U.S. Military for more than 100 years, starting when the U.S. Secretary of War asked our animal first responders to deploy to the war-ravaged fields of Europe to care for injured horses. Today, we continue aiding our those who serve and who have served however we can. Through our Pups4PatriotsTM program, for example, we pair specially trained service dogs, free of charge, to veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress or traumatic brain injury.
If you follow us on social media, you will likely have seen our team reuniting retired MWDs with their former handlers. This September, we had the honor of helping bring back MWD Ramos and reunite him with U.S. Marine veteran Brendan Cabey in front of the USS Constitution in Boston.
Both the teams at American Humane and at the USS Constitution Museum agreed that the general public doesn’t know enough about the roles, responsibilities and lives of MWDs. We put our heads together and decided that hearing from former K-9 handlers who have real-world experience working with MWDs would be the best way to educate people. So we put together a stellar slate of familiar faces: Cpl. Aaron Stice, who we reunited with MWD Kkeaton; SSgt. Charles Ogin, who we reunited with MWD Rrobiek; and Sgt. Brendan Cabey and MWD Ramos.
The USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship still afloat, has a unique history with four-legged patriots. During the war of 1812, a terrier named Guerriere kept morale high and ‘served’ alongside his fellow seamen.
More information is available about the event on the museum’s website. Register today for this free event and tune in on Wednesday, November 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
