Honoring the dogs of war on Memorial Day

May 25, 5:07 AMAtlanta Dogs ExaminerSandy Weaver Carman

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It's Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember the military men and women who have paid the ultimate price - their own lives - in order to keep America free.  Of all of the horrors of war, perhaps the worst is that some of the finest men and women our country produces never return home to their loved ones.  The choice to serve in harm's way is a brave one, and all who serve deserve our honor, but today especially, the ones we've lost deserve our respect, and their families deserve our prayers.

The phrase "dogs of war" isn't usually interpreted to mean actual dogs, but throughout history, dogs have served the military all over the world in many different ways.  Military dogs lose their lives in the line of duty, and this column today is a way to honor those dogs, and also the people who are working to be sure that retired military dogs are appropriately re-homed instead of being destroyed, as was long the policy of the armed services.

A lovely website that honors one service dog and his war-dog heroes is Buck's Heroes.  The black and white Siberian Husky made a couple of appearances in Lawrenceville at PAWfest and garnered many fans here.  The book is wonderful, and makes a great gift for dog-lovers, military buffs and retirees alike.

Save-A-Vet.org produced this moving video about how dogs have helped us win wars, save lives and bring comfort to our deployed troops:



A lovely remembrance of military dogs, set to Phil Collins' song, "You'll Be In My Heart."



No matter what else you do today, please remember our fallen heroes, both two-legged and four-legged.  We owe our freedom to them all.

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