Adopting Military Working Dogs
Apr 27th, 2008 by wardogmarine
A common question I get is if working dogs can be adopted. The answer is a huge YES!!
Many dogs get retired every year from the DOD(department of defense) and need to find a home. If no home is found then ultimately the dog will most likely be euthanized, which is a sad end for a dog that lived an entire life serving his country. Instead of writing about the process of how to adopt I have provided a couple links that have information on how to find and download adoption forms and the process to go through.
These dogs make exceptional pets for your homes. There are many benefits of adopting a retired dog including
-A highly obedient professionally trained dog
-an outstanding guard dog
-a dog that is trained to only want to please it’s handlers.
-a dog that has a great temperament
-a trustworthy animal to leave with kids and at home and many other benefits
-a dog that has a history of serving his country
Here are some great links to go to if you are interested in adopting a working dog
http://www.lackland.af.mil/units/341stmwd/index.asp
http://militaryworkingdogadoptions.com/mission.html
http://www.militaryworkingdogs.com/dogstoadopt.shtml
Remember you may see only a few dogs up for adoption, but there is usually quite a few available.
Also, it is not just retired dogs that can be adopted but also puppies that were not suitable to be military working dogs.
I am interested in the dogs currently available. I live in Colorado and will need to make proper arrangements and travel in order to adopt a working dog. I am interested in either male or female. From a puppy age to two.
Please let me know the easiest way to proceed. Thank you.
I am interested in adopting a Military Working Dog. I live in California but maybe getting stationed in North Carolina or Virginia coming up with in the next year. I am interested in a german shepherd and perfer that is retired from the Marine Corps if possible. Can you please let me know how to proceed farther from here, i have the app. for adoption mostly filled out already. Thank you for your help. Semper FI!
I’m the adoption/disposition coordinator for the DoD. The adoption listing on our website is as up to date as I can get it (sometimes 5 minutes after an adoption…). An application is a must before I will do anything in regards to an adoption. However, at this time, our application is being redone and I will be unable to accept applications from those other websites until our situation is resolved. Please bear with us until this matter is corrected…
Thank you for the comment Wardog72
We adopted our Dog Ronnie A198 from Patrick Air Force Base FL in July 08 we just took him to his first Xmas Parade on Dec. 13th he is a wondeful dog and aim’s to please us all day long he is just wonderful
Former US Border Patrol handler. Lost Montana 1.5 years ago. Would like to get as much info on adopting one if your Shepards
I’m very interested in adopting on of your dogs. I live in Washington state. I have beening looking for a long time. I love dogs and currently have a beagle. I have 7 children and they want another dog and I always wanted a well trained dog that needs a home. Please let me know what I need to do to be considered for adopting one.
Thanks,
Patrice
All we ask is that you think about it and look into the program. You would be doing your country a great service. Good luck in your decision.
This is great. I’ve really enjoyed what you have done. I was in the Infantry in Iraq and we always loved to have our k9 teams on mission with us. Those k9 team inspired me to open my own k9 company. I now run the company and we produce police and personal protection dogs. A lot of people want our personal protection dogs but just can’t afford them. Now I know about this program I‘ll be sure to let my clients know and I’ll do everything I can to put the word out.
Semper Fi-brother
John
I am Dave Squarebriggs of Grand Forks, BC, Canada. I would be interested in adopting a retired military dog if I fall within your guide lines
I am looking forward to hereing from you.
Thanks,
Dave Squarebriggs
We adopted a retired drug dog about three years ago, and he is the love of both mine and my husband’s life. It is the best decision we’ve ever made, and it has been a real joy watching him transform from work-mode 24/7 into a good-tempered pet who is obedient, loving, but also protective and brave. I’ll always keep a dog like him around, that is, if it is even possible to find another such wonderful and intelligent creature as our Dax.
I am currently stationed in Germany. Is there any way for me to adopt over here?
I would very much like to adopt a military working German Shepard. I have had German Shepards in the past and would like very much to have another. Please let me know how to start the process.
I am not exactly sure on the process of adopting a retired WMD, but I am highly interested in providing a loving life for a hard working service member. I am currently deployed to Iraq and have seen first hand how wonderful these dogs are and how much effort they put into protecting us from harms way. If you could please provide the right direction I might beable to take in order to start the process that is required to adopt such an awesome companion.
This is the website for the 341 TRS Adoption program:
http://www.lackland.af.mil/units/341stmwd/index.asp
Anyone interested in adopting needs to merely read the Adoption Information (majority of your questions are answered there). Contact information is available for Mr. Sparkowich who replaced me as the Adoption/Disposition Coordinator a few months ago (it was a civilian position I was lucky enough to work as an enlisted troop. And the only enlisted person to work this job as well…). To get the procedure from the source and not from an unaffiliated website or person (there are no websites or organizations that work directly with us here at the 341 TRS, we’ve been adopting working dogs out for well over 30 years) please contact Mr. Sparkowich as he is more than willing to assist you…
Lackland has been adopting out MWDs for over 30 years?? That’s AWESOME! I was under the impression that retiring MWDs were not allowed to be adopted out until the passage of the ‘Robby Law” which was signed in November of 2000 by President Clinton….
Adoptions to the public started (essentially) with the passage of the Robby Law. The DoD has adopted working dogs that failed training or were medically eliminated in the field (those were usually not taken by law enforcement agencies due to their older ages) for many decades to law enforcement agencies or other helper type agencies. Why not the public? One reason is that there was no method to evaluate temperments and could you imagine the poor publicity and scrutiny the DoD would receive for adopting a dog to some family and having one of them get attacked by an aggressive dog?
I find your response quite interesting…I was under the impression that Robby an 8 year old Belgian Malinois MWD suffering from arthritis was not allowed to be adopted out to his very own handler…I quote from this source: http://www.legend-and-lore.com/war-dogs-adoption.html
“Robby’s handler pleaded with higher-ups to adopt the silver muzzled Belgian Malinois so he could enjoy a loving home for whatever quality time he had left. His request was denied. The handler went public with his dog’s plight, resulting in thousands of emails to the Department of Defense and Congressional representatives from outraged dog lovers and veteran dog handlers. Ultimately the war dog euthanasia issue got the attention of Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who drafted a bill stipulating an adoption alternative to the military’s euthanasia tradition. House Resolution 5314 was approved unanimously in both the Congress and the Senate, and President Clinton signed it on November 6, 2000. Unfortunately, the new law came too late to save Robby. On January 19, 2001–as inaugural fireworks flew in our nation’s capitol–he was being euthanized by Lackland. After being warehoused at the base through a bitterly cold winter, his arthritic condition had worsened to the point where he could no longer even stand. War dog retirement advocates had been pressing for details on Robby’s physical condition since November, but it wasn’t until the day before the dog’s death that the Air Force released any information. Even though an interim foster home was available for Robby, by then his physical condition had deteriorated too far for him to have any kind of quality life. ”
I guess my question is…if handler were allowed to adopt their dogs when they were TOO infirm for the PD’s…how come Robby wasn’t allowed to go home with his “Daddy”? Just wondering Wardog72….can you clear this up for me?
I find your response quite interesting…I was under the impression that Robby an 8 year old Belgian Malinois MWD suffering from arthritis was not allowed to be adopted out to his very own handler…I quote from this source: http://www.legend-and-lore.com/war-dogs-adoption.html
“Robby’s handler pleaded with higher-ups to adopt the silver muzzled Belgian Malinois so he could enjoy a loving home for whatever quality time he had left. His request was denied. The handler went public with his dog’s plight, resulting in thousands of emails to the Department of Defense and Congressional representatives from outraged dog lovers and veteran dog handlers. Ultimately the war dog euthanasia issue got the attention of Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who drafted a bill stipulating an adoption alternative to the military’s euthanasia tradition. House Resolution 5314 was approved unanimously in both the Congress and the Senate, and President Clinton signed it on November 6, 2000. Unfortunately, the new law came too late to save Robby. On January 19, 2001–as inaugural fireworks flew in our nation’s capitol–he was being euthanized by Lackland. After being warehoused at the base through a bitterly cold winter, his arthritic condition had worsened to the point where he could no longer even stand. War dog retirement advocates had been pressing for details on Robby’s physical condition since November, but it wasn’t until the day before the dog’s death that the Air Force released any information. Even though an interim foster home was available for Robby, by then his physical condition had deteriorated too far for him to have any kind of quality life. ”
I guess my question is…if handler were allowed to adopt their dogs when they were TOO infirm for the PD’s…how come Robby wasn’t allowed to go home with his “Daddy”? Just wondering Wardog72….can you clear this up for me?
We would be interested in speaking to someone regarding an adoption of a military dog. My husband returned from Pakistan a year ago and presently works for our government and it would be his dream to have an animal who understands the lifestyle of protection.
my dog has resently passed away and i have alwase admired mwds and would love to have one of my own if it would not cost anything
my dog has resently passed away and i have been looking for a dog and i have always admired MWD’s and i would love to have one of my own if it did not cost anything