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When the United States entered World War II in 1941 after the December attack on Pearl Harbor, the American Kennel Association and a group called Dogs for Defense organized an effort to encourage dog owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster Corps of the U.S. Army.

The K-9 Corps initially accepted over 30 dog breeds, but soon narrowed the list to seven: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman Pinschers, collies, Siberian Huskies, Malumutes and Eskimo dogs.

K-9 Corps recruits were trained for eight to 12 weeks. After basic obedience training, they completed one of four specialized programs to become a sentry, scout or patrol dog, messenger or mine-detector. In active combat situations, scout dogs played an especially critical role, alerting patrols to the approach of the enemy and thwarting surprise attacks.

Training for the first war dogs of the K-9 Corps began in March 1942 and to commemorate the heroic service of our four-legged warfighters, the country celebrates National K9 Veterans Day every March 13th.

Here are six of the most amazing K-9 vets in recent history, courtesy of “Saving Private K9” a series which aired recently on the Sportsman Channel.

1. Sgt. Brian Riddle and Jony (Belgian Malinois) – Marine Corps, Afghanistan
Jony, a bomb-sniffing dog, and his partner Brian — a two-time Purple Heart recipient — were both wounded in combat while on deployment in Afghanistan.

2.Officer Tim Nading and Reno (German Shepherd) – Des Moines, IA
K9 Reno became a local legend by saving the life of his partner during a nighttime gunfight. Wounded by the gunman, Reno recovered and now has a dog park named in his honor.

3.Sgt. Kenneth Fischer and Drak (Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix) – Marine Corps, Afghanistan
A drug detection dog, Drak, sniffed out 165 pounds of the Taliban’s opium — and survived a horrific suicide-bombing attempt along with his partner, a U.S. Marine Purple Heart recipient.

4.Marine Cpl. Jose Armenta and Zenit (German Shepherd) – Marine Corps, Afghanistan
Zenit and his U.S. Marine partner created an unbreakable bond when Armenta lost both legs in a horrific Taliban IED blast in Afghanistan.

5.Sgt. David Varkett and Nouschka (German Shepherd) – U.S. Army, Afghanistan
Nouschka is a bomb-sniffing black lab that foiled the Taliban by identifying a cargo van carrying deadly IED explosives in Afghanistan.

6. Chief Petty Officer Benito Olson and Digo (Belgian Malinois) – Navy, Iraq
The Navy SEAL team nicknamed Digo “The Land Shark” and he saved countless lives in combat. Severely wounded in battle, Digo returned to service after his injuries healed.
You can help protect our heroes by helping provide medical care, food, and death benefit assistance for our nation’s retired Police K-9s and Military Working Dogs!

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