Team Infidel
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San Antonio Express-News
October 22, 2008
By Scott Huddleston, Express-News
After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local military officials began talking about ways to fund a new hospital for dogs that help keep the world safe.
Seven years later, Lackland AFB has a 38,000-square-foot hospital with surgical, imaging and therapy rooms and a breeding wing to help meet a growing demand for bomb-sniffing and sentry dogs to protect military bases, airports and other potential targets of terrorism.
On Tuesday, officials of the Army, Air Force and Transportation Security Administration dedicated the new Military Working Dog Veterinary Hospital, which opened in July. Staffed with airmen, soldiers and civilians, it serves the more than 800 canines at Lackland, and some of the thousands that patrol sites worldwide.
Aside from diagnostic ultrasound, the new facility has digital radiography, which provides safe, quick imaging, and CT scans, often used for detailed brain scans and back injuries. In the past, veterinarians have taken dogs to Wilford Hall Medical Center for radiography or CT scans.
Since the base now can create three-dimensional scan images and store them electronically, four-legged warriors are practically on equal footing with humans in getting medical care, officials said.
“It's the same process. It's the same technique,” said Army Lt. Col. David Fletcher, a radiologist at the hospital.
While U.S. military dogs have nearly doubled globally since 2001, from about 1,500 to 2,500, dogs working for the TSA in airports and other transportation facilities have increased from about 175 to well over 400. Although Belgian malinois and Dutch and German shepherds often are used, Labrador retrievers also are trained for airport duty. Small breeds, such as beagles and terriers, sometimes sniff out explosives in cramped spaces.
Now, they all have a place to come to at Lackland for top-notch care and therapy.
“We had a Jack Russell terrier brought here from Guam,” Fletcher said.
Hundreds of dogs are working in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Army. Those that are wounded typically are treated at a field hospital before being moved to a veterinary site. Dogs suffer the same wounds as humans, such as gunshots and shrapnel.
“If they can make it back here, they can usually go back to the fight,” said Army Col. Bob Vogelsang, director of Military Working Dog Veterinary Services.
Although Lackland has the world's largest training center for military dogs and handlers, its 15,000-square-foot veterinary facility, built in 1968, was old and overcrowded. Retired Army Col. Larry Carpenter said he and others began talking about strategies for a new site after 9-11.
“In November 2001, we were already bursting at the seams. So, how do you order up a new hospital?” Carpenter asked during Tuesday's dedication.
In the end, the services worked with the security administration to build a facility costing more than $15 million.
Inside, visitors saw a German shepherd named Kamilka, in an underwater treadmill, putting in a leisurely half-mile at a relaxed pace in 90-degree water, while recovering from surgery to her back leg.
“They're rehabbing, but to them it's play time,” said Kelley Meyer, a canine rehabilitation practitioner.
October 22, 2008
By Scott Huddleston, Express-News
After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local military officials began talking about ways to fund a new hospital for dogs that help keep the world safe.
Seven years later, Lackland AFB has a 38,000-square-foot hospital with surgical, imaging and therapy rooms and a breeding wing to help meet a growing demand for bomb-sniffing and sentry dogs to protect military bases, airports and other potential targets of terrorism.
On Tuesday, officials of the Army, Air Force and Transportation Security Administration dedicated the new Military Working Dog Veterinary Hospital, which opened in July. Staffed with airmen, soldiers and civilians, it serves the more than 800 canines at Lackland, and some of the thousands that patrol sites worldwide.
Aside from diagnostic ultrasound, the new facility has digital radiography, which provides safe, quick imaging, and CT scans, often used for detailed brain scans and back injuries. In the past, veterinarians have taken dogs to Wilford Hall Medical Center for radiography or CT scans.
Since the base now can create three-dimensional scan images and store them electronically, four-legged warriors are practically on equal footing with humans in getting medical care, officials said.
“It's the same process. It's the same technique,” said Army Lt. Col. David Fletcher, a radiologist at the hospital.
While U.S. military dogs have nearly doubled globally since 2001, from about 1,500 to 2,500, dogs working for the TSA in airports and other transportation facilities have increased from about 175 to well over 400. Although Belgian malinois and Dutch and German shepherds often are used, Labrador retrievers also are trained for airport duty. Small breeds, such as beagles and terriers, sometimes sniff out explosives in cramped spaces.
Now, they all have a place to come to at Lackland for top-notch care and therapy.
“We had a Jack Russell terrier brought here from Guam,” Fletcher said.
Hundreds of dogs are working in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Army. Those that are wounded typically are treated at a field hospital before being moved to a veterinary site. Dogs suffer the same wounds as humans, such as gunshots and shrapnel.
“If they can make it back here, they can usually go back to the fight,” said Army Col. Bob Vogelsang, director of Military Working Dog Veterinary Services.
Although Lackland has the world's largest training center for military dogs and handlers, its 15,000-square-foot veterinary facility, built in 1968, was old and overcrowded. Retired Army Col. Larry Carpenter said he and others began talking about strategies for a new site after 9-11.
“In November 2001, we were already bursting at the seams. So, how do you order up a new hospital?” Carpenter asked during Tuesday's dedication.
In the end, the services worked with the security administration to build a facility costing more than $15 million.
Inside, visitors saw a German shepherd named Kamilka, in an underwater treadmill, putting in a leisurely half-mile at a relaxed pace in 90-degree water, while recovering from surgery to her back leg.
“They're rehabbing, but to them it's play time,” said Kelley Meyer, a canine rehabilitation practitioner.