Olivia_Hoover | Editor | E-mail
We never hesitate to celebrate the military working dogs who serve at home and abroad alongside the soldiers of our military to keep our country safe. I’ve learned how to send a care package to a military dog, heard individual stories of their heroism, and learned about legislation to ensure their safe return home. But did you know about the soldiers who take care of their health and well-being?
This June, the Army Veterinary Corps will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The military is the only branch of the U.S. military with clinical veterinarians, and their dedicated mission is to provide care for our dogs the way they hurt: everything from routine check-ups to emergency surgeries. Army vets are stationed around the world to provide support to all branches of the military.
Army vets, as veterinary staff Captain Erin Stein describes them, do a little bit of everything: “We’re everything a civilian vet does, with everything a non-Army officer and soldier does.” Like civilian vets, Army vets have gone through a minimum of eight years of higher education to earn a doctorate.
Army veterinarians work with handlers of military working dogs to provide routine and emergency veterinary care for dogs. The Army offers a full suite of veterinary specialists, with surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, and more. From home base to the battlefield, our brave dogs always get care. When one of our military working dogs suffers injuries on the battlefield, the Army Veterinary Corps is at the ready.
Army vets have other areas of responsibility. They go to wildlife and privately owned animals (eg, soldiers’ personal pets.) Interestingly enough, Army veterinarians are also responsible for food safety inspections. Their trained expertise in public health and animal-to-human diseases has made the Army Veterinary Corps a natural candidate to handle food safety.
So while we salute our serving military dogs for their service, let’s also make sure we thank the brave men and women who serve with them, and take a moment to appreciate the soldiers who keep these honorable dogs healthy and safe, in times of crisis. Army vets, we thank you for your service.
H/t to Redstone Rocket
Featured image via Lance Cpl. Charles J. Santamaria / US Marines
