Military working dogs being honored with stamps

Washington, D.C. (February 7, 2019) — The US Postal Service has announced plans to create a stamp collection of military dogs this year. USPS said in a press release that the new booklet was created to honor “the nation’s brave and loyal military working dogs.”

New stamps honoring Military Service Dogs

The booklet will feature 20 stamps of four breeds — the German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Belgian Malinois and Dutch shepherd — all of which commonly serve in the armed forces. Illustrations of the military dogs will include a white star in the background and other patriotic themes, according to USPS.

PRESS RELEASE

Military Working Dogs 

The Postal Service honors the nation’s brave and loyal military working dogs with this new booklet of 20 stamps. Each block of four stamps features one stamp of each of the following breeds — German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Belgian Malinois and Dutch shepherd — that commonly serve in America's armed forces. The background of each stamp features a detail of a white star. 

A star appears in the center of each block. The stylized digital illustrations are in red, white, blue and gold to represent the American flag and patriotism. The art was created by DKNG Studios. 

Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.  

   
USPS News Release 

An estimated 2,300 working dogs currently serve on US military bases across the globe, which reports that military dogs have served in the US Armed Forces since World War I. Military dogs often serve as sentries and guards at US military posts, as well as assist with search and rescue operations by using their heightened sense of smell.

SOURCE: USPS

Ry-Con Service Dogs shuts down following complaints

Raleigh, N.C. (January 15, 2019) — The company, Ry-Con Service Dogs, shut down abruptly following the series of complaints and lawsuits from parents. In those complaints submitted to N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, parents say the dogs they received as service animals for their children were untrained, aggressive, and often in poor health. One family claims their dog needed surgery and others say they paid thousands for a dog and never received it.

Last week CBS 17 talked with Rachel Cummings. The North Carolina mom spent nearly $14,000 on a service dog for her 11-year-old daughter with autism. She says it was completely untrained and attacked their family dog in front of her daughter. Cummings returned the dog and asked for a refund. She says Mark Mathis, owner of Ry-Con Service Dogs, refused.

Later she found out that same dog was re-sold to another family with a special needs child. Mary Matthews is the mother of the child who received the dog. She also filed a complaint saying she "received a dog that was not a candidate for service dog work." She went on to say the dog tried to bite multiple children including her own.

Stein says his office is taking all of the allegations very seriously.


“We’ve heard that the dogs were not trained,” Stein said. “They’re not quality service animals. Some of them aren’t even housebroken. So you can imagine a family that sometimes took out a second mortgage on their home in order to come up with the $14,000, $15,000 to buy this animal, how devastating that could be to invest all this money because you’re desperate trying to help your child and it’s not what you were promised.”

Mathis responded to many of the complaints, telling Stein’s office: “This massive rush of complaints is part of a coordinated effort by a political Facebook group. …

The group was started by two opportunistic families who do not have dogs from Ry-Con Service Dogs and have now pulled many other families (including this one) into a web of misinformation and lies about the non-profit.” Stein says the investigation is ongoing and he encourages any other families who believe they may have been victims to call his office.

SOURCE: CBS17

Story of Indiana’s first Pit Bull K9

Kennard, Indiana (October 22, 2018) — Jasper the pit bull was running out of chances. He arrived at the Prince William County animal shelter about six months ago, an injured stray possibly hit by a car. He recovered and got adopted – twice. Each time, his new owners returned him.

Photo of a very happy Jasper  - Instagram/K9.jasper

“Unfortunately, he's one of those dogs that's just fantastic, but he's also kind of challenging,” said Jill Gregory, center manager for the Prince William Humane Society, which works with county animal control to pull pets from the shelter and help get them adopted.

Gregory said she went to the shelter for her weekly pull, where a staff member took her aside and told her about Jasper, a pit bull mix who’s about 2 years old. “She said there’s this dog, he’s been in and out, we think he’s been hit by a car, he’s really high energy,” Gregory said. She took him to the humane society's facility in Dumfries, where the organization opened a storefront for pet adoptions last year.

There, animal care workers found Jasper intelligent, loyal and driven, particularly when it came to a ball. But he was “extreme high energy” and frustrated.

After an accidental bite with an animal-care worker, it looked like Jasper’s time had run out. “We were really hoping we’d be able to do more for him, but we ended up having the same issues,” Gregory said. “We were kind of at our wit’s end.”

That’s when Prince William Humane Society president Lori Leary reached out to Nick White, who owns Off-Leash K9 Training. White’s team performed two evaluations with Jasper and saw big potential. “They said ‘We could do so much with this dog. He could be a police dog,’” Gregory said. “I’m just here thinking he’s an awesome dog, so smart.

But in this environment, there’s not much more to do but look cute and hope someone takes them home.” White contacted the Throw Away Dogs Project, which specializes in “repurposing, training and relocating unique dogs to positively impact our communities.” The Pennsylvania-based nonprofit took Jasper on and trained him to be a drug detection dog. On Oct. 2, Jasper the throwaway became Jasper the police dog, joining the Kennard Police Department in Indiana.

 He and his new handler, Kennard police Deputy Chief Don Crabtree, are learning their new roles together and experiencing a lot of firsts. Jasper is Crabtree’s first police canine, as well as a first for the small town police force. And while Jasper is trained to sniff out cocaine, heroin, meth and ecstasy, he’s still undergoing training for certification in Indiana, where he is believed to be the state’s first pit bull police dog. “What he’s waiting for is for me to catch up to him,” Crabtree said.

 In the meantime, the new partners have already established a strong bond, and Jasper seems to love life with a job to do. Crabtree admits he didn’t know what to expect when he first met Jasper. “I didn’t know if I was going to get him home and he was going to wreak havoc,” he said. “I’ve never owned a pit bull, but I wouldn’t trade him in for any other breed. You can look in his eyes and see the love there. We’re definitely bonded. This guy won’t let me do anything alone.”

Jasper has received a big welcome in Kennard, a smaller community with no budget for a drug-detection dog, but – like many communities – struggling with a drug problem. Crabtree is paying Jasper’s expenses out of his own pocket for now.

 “The number one goal is to make the community safe,” Crabtree said. “The type of place were people can go home and leave the front door unlocked. With the community’s help, we can make that happen. Jasper fits right in to that plan.”

SOURCE: Inside Nova