The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Troops The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Troops
Showing posts with label Troops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Troops. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Why US Troops Risked Their Lives in WWII to Rescue Horses Kidnapped by Nazis


 “Get them. Make it fast.”

In the chaotic last days of the Second World War, Gen. George Patton’s terse command set off a remarkable secret mission to save a group of priceless stallions and brood mares kidnapped on the orders of Adolf Hitler.

The directive might have appeared foolhardy and risky to an outsider but not to the small group of American and German soldiers who put their hostilities aside, desperate to save the world’s most valuable equine prisoners of war, which were being held deep inside enemy lines in occupied Czechoslovakia.

Minutes after Patton’s order, Hank Reed, a Virginia horseman who was the commanding officer of the Second Cavalry in Europe, dispatched one of his soldiers, an accomplished rider from Tennessee, to team up with a Nazi veterinarian. Under cover of darkness, they trekked miles through dense forests and battle-scarred villages to capture the horses and place them under American protection — before the arrival of advancing Russian troops.

The valuable Lipizzaner horses — snow-white and blue-black, many of them Olympic dressage champions — had been stolen from the countries that the Nazis occupied during the war. In addition to gold, jewelry and artwork, the Nazis seized the valuable horses from Poland, Yugoslavia, Italy and Austria.

The Nazis’ goal, according to author Elizabeth Letts in her new book “The Perfect Horse” (Ballantine), was to breed the Lipizzaner with German horses in order to create an equine specimen that was worthy of the German master race.

Horses were central to the Nazi propaganda effort, and Hitler was often shown as “the man who put Germany back in the saddle,” according to Letts. In fact, as soon as he ordered the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and unleashed the grisly chain of events that plunged the world into war, Hitler had important plans for the country’s horses. As Letts writes, “In the blueprint forged for its occupation, a plan was put into place for the ‘rebuilding of Poland’s horse-breeding industry’ for the ‘interest of the German nation.’ ”

To read more on this story, click here: Why US troops risked their lives in WWII to rescue horses kidnapped by Nazis

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Troops Betrayed as Army Dumps Hundreds of Heroic War Dogs


By then, Daniel had been in Afghanistan two months. It was July 2012, his third tour of duty and his first with Oogie, his military working dog. They were leading their platoon on yet another patrol, clearing a no-name village with maybe 15 houses and one mosque, when they began taking fire.

“The first thing that went through my mind,” he says, “was, ‘S- -t. My dog’s gonna get shot.’ ”

It was a perfect L-shaped ambush, bullets coming from the front and the right, the platoon pinned down in a flat, open landscape. Along the road were shallow trenches, no more than 14 inches deep. Daniel grabbed ­Oogie, squeezed him in a hole, then threw himself over his dog.

It went against all his Army training. “They tell us it’s better for a dog to step on a bomb than a US soldier,” he says. The truth is Daniel, like just about every other dog handler in the armed forces, would rather take the hit himself.

Five weeks into their training, Daniel and Oogie were inseparable. They showered together. They went to the bathroom together. When Daniel ran on the treadmill, Oogie was on the one right next to him, running along.

That week, Daniel got Oogie’s paw print tattooed on his chest.

“The few times you safeguard your dog are slim compared to what he does every time you go outside the wire,” Daniel says. “That’s your dog. The dog saves you and saves your team. You’re walking behind this dog in known IED hot spots. In a firefight, the dog doesn’t understand.”

Bullets were coming closer now; the enemy had long ago picked up on how important the dogs were to the Americans, how successful they were at sniffing out bombs. “I know there were three separate incidents where they shot at ­Oogie,” Daniel says. And as he lay on top of his dog, he stroked him and whispered and kept him calm.

To read more on this story, click here: Troops Betrayed as Army Dumps Hundreds of Heroic War Dogs


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Monday, May 14, 2012

Military Dogs Euthanized as 'Equipment' Under Cruel Law



If roadside bombs and other hazards of war don't kill military dogs, senseless government regulations and red tape might.

The United States is breeding 100 puppies a year to train for bomb sniffing and other soldierly duties, but many aren't making it back to happy homes because an obscure federal law classifies them as "equipment" rather than personnel, and makes adopting them a financial and bureaucratic nightmare. A bill to require that the military ship the heroic dogs home and ease potential veterinarian costs for adopting families is currently bogged down in Congress, as dogs continue to be euthanized.



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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Soldier and Dog’s Reunion Video - A Web Hit!



How do you say "welcome home" in dog? We're pretty sure this Great Dane, Emmitt, nicknamed "Thunderpaws," got his super-excited message across.

The overgrown pooch was reuniting with his dad, Trevor Chowder, who was returning from deployment in Afghanistan after spending nine months apart.

The loving giant, who is normally not allowed to jump up (you'll see why when you watch the video — he's as tall as his human companion) stares into Trevor's eyes and gives him a hug while standing on his hind legs.



Here's another video showing a soldier and dog's reunion:

Reunion shows dog's unconditional love (VIDEO)

To say that this boxer, Chuck, was excited to see dad come home is an understatement.  He jumps out of the suv to greet him!  The family went through the same thing last year when he came home.


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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

GIs Reward their Best Friends - The Dogs of War


Living thousands of miles from family and loved ones and facing the dangers of war often take a toll on U.S. troops. But inject some of that old-fashioned unconditional love and things become just a little more bearable.



This is the kind of story that warms my heart. I hope it warms yours too! FOLLOW US!
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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saluting The Troops - Dogs Welcoming Their Troops Home - Videos


Marine Maj. Brian Dennis returned from Iraq and was reunited with Nubs, the street mutt he and his fellow soldiers rescued and, with help from friends and family, had shipped back to the United States.

This article is a little different than most that I write. I am dedicating this article to the Troops that have already come home, and to those who will be returning in the near future.


When Troops are deployed, they of course, have to leave their family. Did you know that some of these Troops have dogs and must provide care for them while they are gone… sometimes for months? While it is heart breaking for these Troops to leave their families and dogs…the homecoming is well worth it!

My article consists of several heart-warming videos showing the greetings that some Troops received from their dogs when they returned home. The Troops in these videos are already home…but I am sure that we will see more of these as more Troops arrive.

Looking at these video’s you can feel the love that these dogs have for their Troops, and the Troops have for their dogs! You will need tissues!

Please click on the links below to view these videos. Adjust your speakers, there is a lot of barking love in these videos!

                                     






(This video is really cute. The kid moves out of the way and let's the dog have daddy!)


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