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.

‘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