Just saw it on Twitter from the Australia Defence Force: “Defence photo of the day. A Royal Australian Air Force Military Working Dog jumps through a ring of fire at Australia Defence Force Academy Open Day.” (Click the photo for a much larger image.)

And if you don’t like it or think it’s cruel, contact the ADF, not me, OK?  I think it’s really something else.

“Dogs becoming essential in fight against IEDs”

Doesn’t pull any punches in describing how dangerous a job this is or how tough life can be for these dogs, but also gives you a real look at how much their handlers love the dogs and the relationship they have.

I know there are people who have real qualms about dogs doing these jobs (hey, it even gets to me sometimes), and I also think a number of people have a misperception about how the vast majority of handlers treat them, thanks to some bad stories about a few of the proverbial bad apples in the press.

But if you’ve met any military or police handlers – and I’ve met a number over the years – you know that by far most of them would take a bullet for their dogs.  In this case specifically, you can bet that they will use the dogs as trained, but also do absolutely everything they can to keep them from getting blown up in the process.

The one sentence in the story that did surprise me was this  – of course, I knew the dogs were out there, but had no idea their presence was this widespread:

“For the first time this year, most infantry battalions deploying to war zones have the dogs…”

Make no mistake – that doesn’t tell you how expendable the dogs are, but exactly the opposite – they’ve become so important, it’s gotten to where the Marine Corps doesn’t want to put Marines in the field without them.

Koda’s memorial service was held yesterday – here’s a very sad but moving video of the service that’s definitely worth watching.

“Memorial service held for fallen police dog“

The sad part is that Koda, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois working dog in Midvale, UT, was shot and killed by a suspected robber who was himself killed by police during the same chase.

“Officers mourn K-9 killed on duty“

The smart part is that the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office decided to use $10,000 from their asset forfeiture funds, money seized from criminals for evidence in court cases, to pay for a new dog for Midvale. Their logic was that a lot of that evidence is obtained as a direct result of the work of K-9s like Koda, and it’s only fitting and proper (not to mention a good investment, if you think about it) to fund a new dog.

“Assets seized in county crimes to help fund K9 for Midvale“

Not being an expert by any stretch in this area, I have no idea how common this is, but seems to me it’s not, although it should be. The vast majority of the time I hear about funding for police dogs, it’s usually a story about a department trying to find the money to get a dog in the first place.

Big kudos to the Salt Lake County DA’s office for doing this and setting a great example.

‘Clinic cat on orders to Luke’

I hafta be honest, though, and say it is a little disappointing a vet clinic would let a cat get that heavy.  Plus this story was originally run the day after National Pet Obesity Awareness Day, too.

Maybe they need to let the MWDs chase him around a little (please don’t e-mail me or send me a buncha “How dare you!” comments).

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Chris Lalonde, center, holds his military working dog, Sgt. Maj. Fosco, and jumpmaster Kirby Rodriguez behind them, as they free fall through the air making history with the military’s first tandem airborne jump from an altitude of 12,500 feet on Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Sept. 18, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vince Vander Maarel

Lest those folks up the road from me in Denver, the American Humane Association (the “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” people), get nervous, check out the photo and video of what Fosco was doing right after they landed:

“Dog parachutes as part of Ft. Leonard Wood competition”

How cool is that??!!??

Complete photo essay is here:

http://www.defenselink.mil/photoessays/photoessaySS.aspx?id=1433

“MWDs ‘out of the doghouse’ at JBB”

It doesn’t surprise me – I know enough handlers to know how they are about their dogs, and the stories over the years about them sleeping with the dogs, usually under hostile conditions in the field, are legion.

But there’s just something about the image of a big Lab out there taking over a bed just like they do everywhere.

Not that that would ever happen around here, of course.

1st Lt. John Reed, a Milton, Del., native and platoon leader with 15th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, attempts to evade Capka, a military working dog, during a demonstration at Forward Operating Base Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq, Aug. 1.  (Click on photo for larger version)

There are military working dog articles on the military websites (e.g., Defenselink.mil, Army.mil, AF.mil) all the time with a lotta great pictures – this one just struck me as funny.

If you read the accompanying article, you’ll see this was actually part of a demo as well as a little fun time for the dogs and troops – they asked for volunteers who thought they could outrun the dogs:

“Military working dogs give Soldiers run for their money”

I always like seeing Ray Allen equipment in these pictures, too.  In case you don’t know, Ray Allen is the premier manufacturer of working dog equipment, and has been located here in Colorado Springs for over 60 years.

I use a very, very nice Ray Allen leash – the 6 foot long, 3/4 inch wide version of this Latigo Leather Braided Obedience Lead – don’t know how I ever got along without it:

Take a look around at their site – not only a lotta great equipment, but many great K-9 pictures and stories as well:

Ray Allen Professional K-9 Equipment

“Cloned sniffer dogs begin duties”