BOALSBURG — Blek, a German shepherd working for the Air Force, was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010 and lost his hearing.
Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, was part of the mission that tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden.
Drak, another Belgian Malinois, was injured by a suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan in September.
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Those canines are known as military working dogs, and local advocates say dogs like them who work in the military and government service should be recognized with a K-9 version of Veterans Day.
The advocates, the members of the Working K-9 Association of Central Pennsylvania, paid tribute Sunday during a 90-minute ceremony at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg for the first observation of a K-9 Veterans Day in the state. They hope it’s the starting point to have the governor designate March 13 as the official statewide K-9 Veterans Day.
The organization’s president, Kris Hopkins, who’s also the K-9 officer for the State College Police Department, asked the 50 people attending the tribute to sign a petition for Gov. Tom Corbett.
The petition is online at http://chn.ge/xC1Ovz.
Hopkins, who’s the handler for Keno, a German shepherd, said the designation is a healing process for the handlers, who spend day and night with their dogs.
“We’re doing it for the dogs,” said Hopkins, who was nosed by Keno several times during the ceremony when she teared up. “We’re doing it even more for the handlers.”
Hopkins said State College has acknowledged March 13 as K-9 Veterans Day. She’ll ask Harris Township supervisors to consider the same during their meeting tonight.
Among the working dogs and their handlers in attendance Sunday were Princess, a yellow lab, and Faith Burger, of the Centre County District Attorney’s Office. Princess’ role is to comfort children in court.
There were also two bloodhounds with Dianne and Mike Thees’ Heaven Scent Search and Rescue out of Tyrone; Chuck and Patty Dills’ working dogs, one that’s a wilderness search and rescue dog and another in training; and a K-9 from the Huntingdon County Sheriff’s Department.
Scott VanGorder, who runs the state prison system’s Drug Interdiction Unit at the Quehanna boot camp in Clearfield County and has been a handler for working dogs for more than 20 years, said handlers grow attached to the dogs, whose work is essential.
He said they’re essential in police patrol for searching and rescuing, and their noses can detect drugs, cadavers, explosives and biological chemicals. They can even track down cellphones on prisoners.
“Our K-9 partners are so much more than pets,” Van- Gorder said. “They’re the dogs we spend time with more than our family at some point.”
District Judge Leslie Dutchcot, who spoke about military working dogs, said the Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act would recognize working dogs as service members and not equipment. It would also streamline the adoption process and provide veterinary care after they’re retired.
People can call U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard Township, at 353-0215 to support the bill, she said.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/03/12/3122649/military-dogs-honored-in-first.html#storylink=cpy
