[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10787-S10789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DISTURBING DOD POLICY

  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on a 
disturbing Department of Defense (DOD) policy that prohibits the 
adoption of retired military working dogs (MWD).

[[Page S10788]]

  The bill that I am speaking in support of today, H.R. 5314, will 
amend the law to allow a handler to adopt a retired military working 
dog. This legislation was constructed with the guidance and input of 
all the parties involved. While the Senate version provides more 
flexibility for the DOD than I would prefer, in the future the Congress 
will have the opportunity to evaluate the DOD's work when they report 
back to Congress on their progress in facilitating military dog 
adoptions.
  In discussions with the Managers, my understanding is that this 
change is only intended to protect the Department of Defense's 
flexibility to retain animals it determines to be unsuitable for 
release. In no way is this intended to allow the Defense Department to 
retain animals that are suitable for release and are no longer needed. 
I believe it is important to clarify this point, but with that 
understanding, I am pleased to support this legislation.
  The DOD's policy callously discards these highly trained and devoted 
animals after completion of their service to their country after 8-10 
years of age, even if their handlers wish to adopt them.
  Under the current law there is no happy retirement for these loyal 
canines. After their body is no longer able to sustain the workload of 
their mission, the future becomes bleak for these dogs. In a best case 
scenario, the dogs are sent back to Lackland Air Force Base, their 
original training school, where they are used to instruct their human 
counterparts to become handlers.
  After they have served this final duty, they are kenneled for an 
undertermined amount of time and then put down. In some instances, 
military working dogs are caged as long as a year until they meet their 
final outcome. If no kennel space is available, the less fortunate are 
terminated directly upon their arrival to Lackland.
  Without the loyal service of Military Working Dogs and their devotion 
to their handlers, countless American soldiers would have died or 
become casualties of war.
  These dogs have abilities that our most advanced technology cannot 
match, rendering them priceless to the men and women serving in our 
military.
  Of the 10,000 men who served with K-9 units during the Vietnam War 
more than 265 were Killed in Action. Of the 4,000 dogs that served, 281 
were ``Officially'' listed as ``Killed in Action,'' but only 190 were 
returned home at the end of the war.
  More than 500 dogs died on the battlefields of Vietnam.
  Military Working Dogs not only helped win battles and save lives, but 
had an enormous impact upon the mental well-being of those humans that 
surrounded them in the severest of battle conditions.
  It is clear that the DOD's policy does not work in the best interests 
of the dog handlers and the dogs. There is a distinctly strong bond 
between dog handlers and their dogs, who work, live and play together 
on a daily basis.
  I believe that the military's policy unnecessarily severs a bond that 
has taken years to cultivate which can easily be alleviated by allowing 
dog handlers or other qualified people to care for these highly 
intelligent dogs after they can no longer serve their country.
  The 1949 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, enacted 
after World War II, reclassified military working dogs as equipment. 
According to the military mentality, any piece of equipment no longer 
operable, becomes a hardship to the unit and must be disposed.
  In 1997, the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act was 
amended. The law was altered to permit federal dog handlers, such as 
those in the Drug Enforcement Administration, to adopt their aging K-9 
partners after their service in law enforcement was completed.
  The DOD's K-9 partners were the only federal canine group not 
included in the modification. Are these worthy canines any less 
deserving of peacefully living out the remainder of their days than 
another federal working dogs? These dogs can be detrained of their 
aggressive responses and we have no reason to assume that they will not 
continue to obey their handlers.

  The bill that I am speaking in support of today, H.R. 5315, will 
amend the law to allow a handler to adopt a retired military working 
dog. I believe that legislation was constructed with the best interest 
for all parties involved.
  The decision to allow a handler to adopt their canine partner rests 
on the shoulders of those who know the dog best: the dog's last unit 
commander an the last unit veterinarian. Made on a case-by-case basis, 
the commander and veterinarian are obligated to give their consent 
before the adoption process can move forward.
  Furthermore, H.R. 5314 provides an additional safeguard at the 
federal level. Upon receipt of the dog, the adopting handler waives all 
liability against the federal government.
  H.R. 5314 will effectively accomplish two goals: it offers the DOD a 
solution to their dilemma of maintaining aging canines and lifts the 
restriction that prohibits the adoption of military working dogs. 
Former dog handlers, individuals with comparable experience, or law 
enforcement agencies will be able to provide a loving home for such 
deserving animals.
  Through the passage of this legislation, not only will the military 
working dog be taken from a permanently caged status, but the dog will 
also be given the opportunity for a positive home environment. I know 
you will agree that after a lifetime of service, there can be no better 
reward for both handler and dog.
  In closing, H.R. 5314 has been endorsed by the Humane Society of the 
United States, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Society 
for Animal Protective Legislation, the Doris Day Animal Rights League, 
and The American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This 
is a positive measure which is a win-win solution for dog, handler and 
the Department of Defense.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter to 
Senator Warner from William W. Putney, DVM. He was a C.O. of the War 
Dog Training School at Camp Lejeune, NC, was awarded the Silver Star 
for his bravery during his command of a ``war dog'' platoon in the 3rd 
Marine Division during World War II.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                           Woodland Hills, CA,

                                                 October 18, 2000.
     Senator John Warner,
     Chairman, Committee on Armed Forces,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Warner: I was born in Prince Edward County 
     Virginia. Attended Virginia Tech (VPI then) then graduated 
     from Auburn University in 1943. I immediately went into the 
     Marine Corps and served throughout the war as a line officer 
     in the war dog program and later as the Chief Veterinarian, 
     USMC. Although I am not a constituent of yours, I have many 
     relatives, living in Virginia, that are. I was the platoon 
     leader of the 2nd and 3rd Marine War Dog Platoons that served 
     with the 3rd Marine Division on Guadalcanal, Guam and Iwo 
     Jima and the 2nd Marine Division on Saipan, Okinawa and 
     Japan.
       After the cessation of hostilities, I was C.O. of the War 
     Dog Training School at Camp Lejeune, NC when we detrained and 
     returned to civilian life our dogs that we used in WWII on 
     places like Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Kuajalien, Enewetok, 
     Guam, Pelelieu, Saipan, Okinawa and Japan. Our dogs saved a 
     lot of Marines' lives including mine.
       Of the 550 Marine war dogs that we had on duty at the end 
     of the war, only four were destroyed due to our inability to 
     detrain them sufficiently to be returned safely to civilian 
     life. Never to my knowledge was there a recorded an instance 
     where any one of those dogs ever attacked or bit anyone. It 
     is not true that once a dog has had attack training, it can 
     never be released safely into the civilian population. All of 
     our dogs were attack trained.
       I strongly support Senator Smith in his efforts to change 
     present DoD policy that once a dog has received attack 
     training, it will always be destroyed when he can no longer 
     perform his military duties.
       To use animals for our own use and then destroy them 
     arbitrarily when they can no longer be of use to us is the 
     worst kind of animal abuse.
                                           William W. Putney, DVM,
                                              Captain, USMC, WWII.

  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. He offers his strong support for a change 
in the law that will allow the adoption of military working dogs. 
Former Marine Lt. Putney led a successful effort to build a cemetery 
and monument for the 25 dogs who died in the liberation of Guam in 
1944, and I applaud his work to memorialize their contribution to 
preventing more loss of life during WWII. I also want to have printed 
for

[[Page S10789]]

the Record an article that provides some details of his military life 
and his accomplishments in recognizing the special canine contribution 
to our wartime successes.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Los Angeles Times, Sept. 3, 1995]

            Marine, Now 75, Honored for his Wartime Courage

                           (By Doyle McManus)

       Marine Lt. William W. Putney was awarded the Silver Star 
     for bravery on Saturday--at the age of 75, half a century 
     after the end of his war.
       Putney, a Woodland Hills veterinarian, commanded a ``war 
     dog'' platoon in the 3rd Marine Division during World War 
     II--a little-known specialty that used trained dogs both to 
     guard American positions and sniff out enemy troops hidden in 
     tunnels or caves.
       On July 26, 1944, Putney's unit was defending 3rd Marine 
     headquarters on Guam when the lieutenant, then 24, spotted a 
     Japanese platoon heading toward the division hospital.
       ``Putney ordered the war dog handlers to tie their dogs to 
     bushes and take up a firing line in the path of the enemy.'' 
     His citation reads, ``An enemy machine gun emplacement 
     savagely opened fire. . . . Disregarding his own safety, 
     (Putney) unhesitatingly arose from his position of cover, and 
     standing exposed to the hail of bullets aimed at him, began 
     firing.
       ``He succeeded in silencing the machine gun and killing the 
     two enemy machine gunners. Although wounded, he exhorted the 
     platoon to press the attack, resulting in the killing of all 
     enemy soldiers, including the Japanese officer leading the 
     attack.''
       Officials said Putney had been recommended for a decoration 
     during the war but unaccountability did not receive one. His 
     former commanding officer resubmitted the recommendation a 
     few years ago, and Navy Secretary John H. Dalton approved it 
     in time for Putney to formally receive the award at the 
     Punchbowl military cemetery here as part of Saturday's 
     commemoration of the end of World War II.
       After the war, Putney served as chief veterinarian and 
     commander of the U.S. Army War Dog Training School. He 
     retired from the Marines and practiced as a veterinarian in 
     Woodland Hills.
       In recent years, he led a successful effort to build a 
     cemetery and monument for the 25 Doberman pinschers and 
     German shepherds who died in the liberation of Guam in 1944.
       The memorial, which includes the names of the dogs and a 
     life-size bronze statue of a Doberman, was dedicated in a 
     military ceremony last year.

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