thedrifter
04-06-08, 06:42 AM
Adopting retired working dogs can be challenging <br />
By Cindy Fisher and T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes <br />
Pacific edition, Monday, April 7, 2008 <br />
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After years of faithful service, military working...
thedrifter
04-06-08, 06:43 AM
Air Force spouse pushes for adoption of military working dogs
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, April 5, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — After 10 years working for the Air Force, Benny didn’t need a pension when it came time for him to retire last year from his job sniffing out illegal drugs — just a loving owner and some well-earned rest as a canine senior citizen.
But if not for a lucky telephone call to Langley Air Force Base, Va., on Nov. 29, the final reward for the German shepherd everyone called “the goofball” could have been grim.
Benny was scheduled for euthanasia by Christmas.
Instead, he has his loving new home, thanks to a determined Air Force spouse who is making it her mission to make sure other “Bennys” don’t slip through the cracks.
Congress passed a law in 2000 that allows military handlers, law enforcement officers and civilians to adopt the animals after they are declared “excess inventory.”
But when Debbie Kandoll, 50, began searching for an adoptable dog last year, it turned out to be much harder than she anticipated.
Kandoll’s husband, Capt. Michael Kandoll, is an Air Force Reserve Security Force officer.
“So I knew the name of the units these dogs would be under; I knew how to go through base operators, I knew rank structures and military procedures — and it was still a challenge,” Kandoll said.
At first, Kandoll thought her dog would have to be adopted from the 341st Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, where all military working dogs are trained.
A board from the squadron meets monthly to approve all military dog adoption requests — 268 retired dogs were adopted in 2007, according to disposition coordinator Barbara Stadts.
However, the dogs themselves are adopted directly from the bases where they are retired — important information when it comes to military working dogs stationed at bases overseas, and retired from those posts, Kandoll said.
It took 20 telephone calls before Kandoll reached the kennel master at Langley, who gladly told her Benny was available, she said.
“The people who work with these dogs really care about them,” Kandoll said. “But we’re at war, and everyone is busy. They have to balance their love for the dogs, with the need to get the mission done.”
To help others interested in adopting their own “Benny,” Kandoll has launched www.workingdogs.com, which includes phone numbers for 125 military working dog facilities and a step-by-step guide to the adoption application process.
Ellie