Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar – A special breed of soldier is making a difference in the lives of not only military working dogs, but also other animals in the area of responsibility.
Captain Melody McElroy, 195th Medical Detachment, Officer in Charge, stated, “The Army and the Air Force are the only branches of service that have veterinarians. The main difference is that Air Force veterinarians only preform public health functions while Army veterinarians have both public health function and a true veterinary function. Army veterinarians provide veterinary care to all animals in all branches of the Military. This includes the ceremonial horses, the Navy's dolphins and sea lions, and all of the Military Working Dogs. Army veterinarians also provide veterinary care to Soldier's pets when they are stationed CONUS. The Army veterinarian provides guidance on force health protection issues and disease mitigation.”
Recently Capt. McElroy had to operate on Military Working Dog Nico. MWD Nico is a 3-year-old german shepherd, and is currently stationed in the AOR. Nico was castrated because he had a medical condition called cystic prostatitis. Which is the inflammation of the prostate gland with the presence of cysts.
Sergeant Jeremy Roberts, 1-116th Infantry Battalion, Military Working Dog Handler, said “ I’ve gotten some flack from my fellow handlers about having Nico neutered, but at the end of the day it is about making sure he is healthy and able to carry out the mission in country.”
Nico during a recent check up has shown signs cystic prostatitis. Therefore, Sgt. Rogers saw fit to have the neuter procedure done to prevent Niko from becoming ill but also to prevent the mission from being down one military working dog. These proactive measures taken by handlers are what it takes to increase the quality of life for the dogs and the effectiveness of the mission.
Capt. McElroy said, “Having a veterinarian in theater is very important. We obviously care for all of the Military Working Dogs throughout the AOR. We take care of the routine veterinary care like vaccines and heartworm prevention but we are also available if they are sick. If a MWD becomes ill and can't perform their duty then the entire mission is compromised. We are here to make sure they stay healthy and fit. Also if something were to happen to one of the MWDs we are here to provide emergency, critical care and life saving procedures.”
Working on military working dogs is just a fraction of the responsibility that Capt. McElroy and her team have while in the AOR. She also helps ensure the working cat population stays healthy so they can continue to hunt vermin on the installations, and prevent the spreading of disease to the military working dogs and Soldiers. For instance, over the past few months Soldiers at Area Support Group-Qatar have had the opportunity to take group photos with camels. Before these animals are allowed on to the installation Capt. McElroy must inspect them prior to entering the base.
Specialist Rachel Dinger, Veterinarian Technician, 195th Medical Detachment said, “working on military working dogs, has made me want to change my military occupational specialty to handler. Seeing SGT. Roberts and Nico interact, as well as how their mission covers the overall safety of the installation…it has inspired me to be on the other side of the leash.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2017 02:21 |
| Story ID: | 221725 |
| Location: | QA |
| Web Views: | 357 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Army Vets are making cuts to save the lives of animals in the AOR., by james summers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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