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    Station working dog retires after a lifetime of service

    Station working dog retires after a lifetime of service

    Photo By Sgt. Aaron Diamant | Gunnery Sgt. Tscharner Thomson, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 motor transportation...... read more read more

    YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES

    03.01.2012

    Story by Cpl. Aaron Diamant 

    Marine Corps Air Station Yuma

    YUMA, Ariz. - Her faded grey hair doesn't seem to do justice to her charming and energetic personality, but for one military working dog, the working days are done.

    There's more to Bernie than meets the eye. She's not all teeth and sensitive nose, she is indeed a special girl. Unlike most military working dogs who have had a variety of handlers during their career, Bernie has only had a handful. Instead of switching to a younger dog, the vast majority of her handlers chose to stay with her for several years at a time.

    "She's the only girl I'm allowed to love other than my wife," Reynolds said. "Some people get a going away gift like a plaque or ka-bar when they leave a command or the Corps, but this by far takes the cake. Every handler dreams of this; to be able to adopt a dog, especially one they've handled."

    The bond between handlers and their dogs is always a strong one. They spend countless hours together training and working, and often, the handlers spend more time with their dog than their families. In essence, the dog becomes a part of their family.

    "She was my first explosives dog," said Reynolds, who was Bernie's handler for two and a half years. "Trusting her with my life is one of the biggest commitments I've ever made. Trusting someone who doesn't speak, who can't tell you what she feels, trusting her with my life on bomb threat calls has been huge and something I'll always take with me."

    While Bernie's spent her entire life training to apprehend suspects with her teeth and find explosives,anyone who's spent any amount of time with her knows she absolutely loves people and attention, and has about as sweet a disposition as they come.

    When she leaves her kennel, it's usually with a rush of energy and excitement, but lately, after a few moments, the discerning eye can see the arthritis in her joints kick in and her movements become more labored. But you can tell that if a dog could smile, she would be grinning from ear to ear, happy to be in the sunlight interacting with people.

    The change in lifestyle will undoubtedly be a drastic one for Bernie, who's literally spent her entire life in service to the military. Unlike her human counterparts who started off as civilians and became Marines through choosing to undergo recruit training, Bernie was literally destined to become a military working dog from birth, beginning a stringent selection and training process a few months after she was born.

    Her training was put to use in more ways than just protecting Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, which was her only permanent duty station.

    When many people think of a combat veteran, they envision a solemn, muscular man with a thousand yard stare, not a sixty pound dog with warm eyes and a wagging tail. During one of her deployments, Bernie became a veteran of the Battle of Fallujah, the Iraqi city that saw some of the bloodiest battles between Marines and insurgents in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    But her days of combat, training and searching are now over. She'll be enjoying the comforts of home, playing with her new canine siblings, and undoubtedly sleeping on the couch when no one's looking.

    "She's still got a lot of spunk left in her, she's always wanting to play," said Reynolds.

    There's been a fight over this special dog for years. Everyone who's called her their partner at any given time has wanted to be the one who gets to keep her at the end of her career. Being her most recent handler, Reynolds won.

    "I've been waiting for this moment since last summer," said Reynolds. "I literally jumped for joy when I found out I could finally bring her home."

    The average life-expectancy for a retired working dog isn't long, but her final days will be spent receiving the love, attention and care she has without a doubt earned after a lifetime of service.

    Reynolds will also be leaving the Corps soon, heading home to Ohio in mid-March to attend college, with Bernie by his side.

    "She's already started sneaking onto my bed to sleep," said Reynolds. "She thinks she's quite the princess."

    Author's note: Bernie will always be a special dog to me. She was the first MWD I ever came in contact with, and she greatly impressed me, not only with her skill and professionalism when it came to doing her duty, but also with her loyalty, kindness and affection. After doing some bite work training, she ran up to me wanting me to pet her, and give me a nice slobbery kiss in return. To me, Bernie is the epitome of what "Man's best friend" really means. She's served her handlers and her country well, and based on the affection of everyone who's met her, she's touched many hearts throughout her career. Good job Bernie!

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.01.2012
    Date Posted: 03.07.2012 15:30
    Story ID: 84881
    Location: YUMA, AZ, US

    Web Views: 338
    Downloads: 1

    PUBLIC DOMAIN