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Lucca K458 More photos to accompany Kennel Talk story in September issue

Lucca and Chris on a search and knock

Photos immediately above and below by SrA Eric Harris.

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Chris Willingham, assigned to the U.S. Army's 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, rewards his dog, Lucca

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Chris Willingham, assigned to the U.S. Army’s 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, rewards his dog, Lucca, after finding a training aid in a training house at Camp Diwaniyah, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2009. Willingham and his fellow dog handlers joined soldiers from the 8th Division Iraqi Army for a training day in order to help the Iraqi soldiers get comfortable working with dogs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Eric Harris/Released)

Lucca at the beach

Lucca’s new life.

Rodriguez Lucca and Willingham a

Lucca and the two important men in her life.

Lucca enjoying the gardens

Lucca exploring her new life.

These photos are additional photos that go with the story about Lucca in the September issue of Kennel Talk. If you haven’t received your copy, you may register for a free subscription at www.mwdtsa.org

A Memorial to Jason L. Norton

Jason L. Norton

Sgt. Jason L. Norton, 32, was killed in action Jan. 22, 2006, in Taji, Iraq, when his armored Humvee was struck by an IED. He was a patrol and dog-unit NCO assigned to 3rd Security Forces Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Sgt. Norton, a patrol and K-9 officer, had been stationed in Alaska in 2002-2004. Sgt. Norton was a native of Miami, Okla., and left a wife and two children.

This is the second of several memorials that I will be placing on the Blog. I’ve personally always had trouble writing about our Handlers and Dogs who have died because I feel it can be very intrusive on the families and we certainly want to show them respect. Fortunately for me, Dennis Herrick, the editor of DOGMAN, with whom I have have shared some of my articles, did me the courtesy of sharing a gracious and respectful set of memorials with me. They will be posted on the Blog one at a time. With each posting, I hope you will remember the team, the handler’s family and friends who still mourn and the military family left to mourn a loss of their own.

With deep respect,
Dixie

A Memorial to Adam Cann

Sgt. Adam L. Cann

Sgt. Adam L. Cann, 23, died trying to protect his fellow soldiers and civilians at a police recruitment center on Jan. 5, 2006, at Ramadi, Iraq. When his dog Bruno became agitated by the scent of explosives, according to witnesses, Sgt. Cann confronted a suicide bomber, who then detonated a vest. Bruno was wounded but recovered. Sgt. Cann had served a combat tour in Afghanistan and was on his second tour in Iraq. He was attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. He was from Davie, Fla. Sgt. Cann was the first U.S. dog handler killed since the Vietnam War. The Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, named the base’s kennel the “Adam L. Cann K-9 Facility” in Sgt. Cann’s honor

This is the first of several memorials that I will be placing on the Blog. I’ve personally always had trouble writing about our Handlers and Dogs who have died because I feel it can be very intrusive on the families and we certainly want to show them respect. Fortunately for me, Dennis Herrick, the editor of DOGMAN, with whom I have have shared some of my articles, did me the courtesy of sharing a gracious and respectful set of memorials with me. They will be posted on the Blog one at a time. With each posting, I hope you will remember the team, the handler’s family and friends who still mourn and the military family left to mourn a loss of their own.

With deep respect,
Dixie

War Dog Hero

SGT Roye and SSD Bubba

Here’s a photo of SSD Bubba, a Lab, and his handler having some fun during training. Why is it important for a dog to run pell-mell after a ball? Suppose Bubba just found an IED and you want him out of the dangerous area as quickly as possible. Send him out of the area after his ball.

One of Bubba’s compatriots – Labwise, not American-wise – just won a Hero Dog Award. And, we wanted to share this story with you. Thanks to our ever investigative website guru for this link. Follow the link to the story.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100224/D9E2K4T02.html