Thanks to a school in Plano, Texas, a retired military dog named Nouska is coming home.
Prince of Peace Catholic School held bake sales and a dodgeball tournament to raise the $1,800 it costs to reunite the pup named Nouska with her original handler, a New Jersey resident living off of the GI Bill while he finishes college. In Nouska's case, her only other option after retirement would have been to be euthanized, starlocalnews.com reports.
�There are a lot of things that are not being done for military working dogs,� Debbie Kandoll, co-founder of Military Working Dog Adoptions, told the news source. �We currently have legislation in the [U.S.] Senate and in the House, so dogs like Nouska will actually be able to get on a military aircraft when they retire and come back home.�
Kandroll and her husband Mike founded the organization to make the adoption process for retired military dogs easier. Prince of Peace coach John Anthony found out about the nonprofit online and the two teamed up to help Nouska.
Military dogs are used to help detect explosive and find IEDs that can save countless soldiers' lives. Their sense of smell also supersedes that of their handlers, so often they are a part of small focused groups -- such as the one that helped find Osama bin Laden, according to CNN.
"When you think about the Osama bin Laden take down, a military dog was there. A hero dog was there," Robin Ganzert, president and chief executive of the American Humane Association told CNN.
"They're treated exactly like a soldier, in every way, shape and form," she added. "For example when a military war dog is killed in action, there's often a funeral."
And while the Kandolls know there is more to be done for these dogs, several are getting the heroic homecoming they deserve, with the help of advocates like Prince of Peace.
“Because of you, this dog that preserved our freedom, saved numerous sold lives by doing explosives detections, finding IEDs and weapons caches over in Iran, is now home,” Debbie told the students. “She’s loved and will go in peace and love and joy, not in a cold, dark kennel.”
To find out more about adopting a military dog, click here.