Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Kristopher Maranville, a kennel master with 527th Military Police Company,...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Adrienne Killingsworth
18th Military Police Brigade Public Affairs
MANNHEIM, Germany – While a military working dog might officially be classified as a "highly specialized piece of equipment" by Army standards, in the world of military working dogs – especially where a dog is a partner, a friend and a battle buddy to its handler – the bond that develops is often one of genuine caring and love. To lose that partner – that buddy – is a loss that is deeply felt. It is not like losing a piece of equipment; it is truly like losing a friend.
The Army lost one of its finest working dogs May 6 in Kaiserslautern, Germany, when MWD Ardy, a Patrol Explosive Detection Dog with the 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, was put to rest after it was discovered that his aggressive case of cancer could not be treated.
It was a somber end for an MWD who soldiered on despite the years of hard work and multiple deployments.
Ardy began his career in Germany back in 2003 in Darmstadt. In his seven years as an MWD, Ardy deployed four times – twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When Ardy's handler, Staff Sgt. Kristopher Maranville, kennel master for the Hohenfels Kennels, 527th MP Company, first got word in 2007 that he would be getting Ardy, he said that even then, "I knew I was getting a good dog."
But, more than getting a good dog, Maranville was getting a good partner.
"They were a match made in heaven. They were like father and son," said Staff Sgt. Terrence Parker, a fellow dog handler with the 527th MP Company, 709th MP Bn.
Ardy and Maranville deployed together once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, where they went on combat missions outside the wire and provided force protection.
As a PEDD, Ardy's training and instincts were as important to the success of their missions as the training of the Soldiers he was there to protect. Ardy's contributions to the Army and its Soldiers are not easy to measure, but they are impossible to overlook.
While a typical working dog usually begins to be cycled out of its job at around seven years old, Ardy was still going strong at almost 10, until his illness took hold.
"He was a hard worker," Maranville said, "He liked to do his job – he wouldn't quit doing his job."
And while Ardy may have been the "old man of the Kennel" as Parker called him, his age didn't seem to hold him back in his job or in his affection for his partner. Even though he weighed 85 pounds, "Ardy was so happy whenever [Maranville] would walk into the room, he would bounce up and down," Parker said.
That type of a welcome for his partner seemed to typify Ardy's personality – of which there was a lot. Despite the fact that he was an 85-pound German Shepherd, Ardy made friends wherever he went. Everyone liked him, Maranville said. He just had that kind of personality.
"If you met him once, you liked him," Maranville said, adding that Ardy's personality shined until the end. "The day they put him down, he had all the vet techs in tears. He was just that kind of dog. They grew attached to him in less than a week."
As a team, Maranville said they deployed together without much fanfare and came back from deployment without the elaborate welcome back that a unit's return might receive. If Ardy's passing provides one thing, it's recognition for the hard work and dedication that he had to his job, Maranville said, adding that "the fact that he's getting recognized is really the biggest thing for me."
Trained dogs have a proud heritage in the military. They have been used in the world's military forces since they were first organized – amplifying soldiers' skills by acting as an extension of them. As people take this time to remember Ardy, it is comforting to know that even though he will be missed, a fine example of a "war dog" has been added to that proud legacy.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2010 04:55 |
| Story ID: | 49519 |
| Location: | MANNHEIM, DE |
| Web Views: | 593 |
| Downloads: | 483 |
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