Afghanistan : Saturday, 30 October 2010
Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan – The US troop surge in Afghanistan has led to a dog surge – and unexpected problems in procuring high-quality dog food with enough protein and nurients for hundreds of canines used to find explosives and perform other energy-intensive missions.
Along with about 37,000 US and NATO troops, the number of military working dogs being brought into the country to search for mines, explosive and to accompany soldiers on patrol is increasing substantially, according to Nick Guidas, the US K-9 project manager for Afghanistan.
Guidas, a civilian contractor who primarily oversees dog oprerations in southern Afghanistan, said he has 50 dogs on operation teams and about 20 more awating missions. He expects that number to go up to 219 by July. “ It may go as high as 315 dogs in Afghanistan, he said yesterday at a crowed kennel full of highly trained German and Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labradors on this air base, the hub of US and international security forces’ operations in the volatile Kandahar area.
“Because of the surge there is more need for working dog. But one of my main problems is getting dog food,” he said. “It hard to convince people sometimes that it’s a priority. but it’s a necessity if we are to keep these dogs working.”
Guidas said because of the energy-intensive demands of their missions, the dogs require special food and can’t just eat scraps.
The dogs have become and essential component of many units because of their versatility. They can be trained to search for a wide variety of explosive and parts used in making improvised bombs.
The US has about 2,800 military dogs, the largest canine force in the world. It has used dogs in combats since World War I.
He said each dog can work for five or six years, but the demands of the terrain and of the mission are harsh, particularity on the dogs’ jonts. If a dog is injured or sick, it is not sent out on operations.
Only two military dogs have been lost in southern Afghanistan in the past five years, Guidal said. “We take every good care of these dogs,” he said “In some cases they are treated better than us.”
Story and Foto from : www.buenosairesherald.com and AP
