Men and women risk their lives every day in the military while fighting for our freedom. But we can’t forget about the four-legged military members as well, who work tirelessly alongside their handlers, keeping them and everyone around them safe.
Just like humans, military dogs can’t serve forever and have to eventually retire. When they return home, civilian life isn’t always easy for them either. These dogs are not used to living in a home, sleeping in a real bed, or simply being a “pet.” They need to adjust to their new life just like their handlers do, and some even suffer from canine PTSD.
Not all of these military dogs retire at the same time as their handlers, so they don’t always get to live with them when they’re done serving. Many of them are deemed “un-adoptable” because of everything they’ve been through.
Mike Ritland, a retired Navy SEAL, runs the Warrior Dog Foundation in Texas, where he takes in these so-called un-adoptable dogs and works with them to break them out of their shells. He treats them with the respect they deserve and helps make their retirement a little bit easier.
These dogs have saved countless lives while in the military, so calling them “man’s best friend” is surely an understatement. Ritland repays them for their duties by rehabilitating them and helping them find loving forever homes. Warrior Dog Foundation has saved more than 100 dogs thus far and continues to help more as they are brought to them.
“These dogs ask nothing of us and provide so much for our troops, for our police officers, for our communities, for our nation,” Ritland said in a video. “For us to give these dogs what they deserve is both an honor and a pleasure. It’s important that these dogs are never forgotten.”
These dogs can finally trade in their bulletproof vests for some toys and now get the chance to live life as a normal dog.
Learn more about Ritland’s efforts to help these military pups in the video below:
