Fallen Marine's Family Adopts His Best Friend

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Feb. 4, 2011 – "Whatever is mine is his," Marine Corps Pfc. Colton W. Rusk wrote about Eli, his military working dog, in the final days of their deployment in Afghanistan.

Brady Rusk, 12, gets a somber kiss from Eli, a bomb-sniffing military working dog, during a retirement and adoption ceremony at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 3, 2011. The Labrador retriever was assigned to Brady's older brother, Marine Corps Pfc. Colton Rusk, who was killed in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Yesterday, Rusk's family helped to prove his words true when they adopted the black Labrador retriever in a retirement and adoption ceremony at the military working dog school here.

After Rusk, 20, was killed Dec. 5 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province by Taliban sniper fire, Marine Corps officials told Darrell and Kathy Rusk, his parents, that Eli, the young Marine’s infantry explosives detector dog, crawled on top of their son to protect him after he was shot.

The Rusks drove here from their home in Orange Grove, Texas, along with their sons -- Cody, 22, and Brady, 12 -- as well as Rusk's aunt, Yvonne Rusk, and his grandparents, Jan Rusk and Katy and Wayne O'Neal.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jessy Eslick of the Defense Department’s military working dog research and development section handed the leash to the family, praising Eli as "a dog that brought Marines home to their families."

Eli immediately began licking Kathy Rusk's palms and fell into the arms of his former handler's father.

"In his last letter we got the day before we buried him, at the very top was a little smudge that said 'Eli's kisses,'" said the fallen Marine’s mother, who wore a two-sided pendant with a photo of her son on one side and another snapshot of him with Eli on the other. "[Colton] thought whatever was [his] was Eli's. "We're Colton's family, so it's just right that we're Eli's family now."

Eli, who was trained in the military working dog program here, reportedly is the second working dog the Marines discharged to permit adoption by a fallen handler's family. Cpl. Dustin J. Lee's family adopted his German shepherd, Lex, after the Quitman, Miss., Marine died from wounds he received in a mortar attack in Iraq’s Anbar province March 21, 2007. The corporal's family worked for nine months with an online petition and congressional help to secure the adoption.

Kathy Rusk said her family didn't have as many obstacles in their quest to adopt Eli. Texas Gov. Rick Perry started the process of working with the Marines on the dog's discharge, and Scooter Kelo, who trained Eli and also taught Rusk on working with the dog, also helped to make the adoption possible.

"It gets our mind off the sadness of losing Colton," she said, "just knowing we're going to have a little piece of Colton in Eli. I just wished he could talk and tell us some stories. Just to know we're going to be able to share the love we have for our son with something that he loved dearly."

Rusk joined the Marines after he graduated from Orange Grove High School and committed himself to the Marines the same week that his best friend, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Rokohl, lost both legs in southern Afghanistan. Rusk deployed to Afghanistan on his 20th birthday, with Eli, as part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"He wanted to be a Marine since he was 10 years old," his mother said of her fallen son. "We talked to him about maybe going to college first, but he said he had to fight for his country first."

Rusk often told his parents how dogs like Eli were well-trained here and in South Carolina, where he was trained as a bomb detector dog handler.

"We've had dogs all of our lives," Darrell Rusk said. "Since all of the boys were babies, they had one. Colton was probably the better handler of the bunch. When he went to train in South Carolina, he said, 'Dad, we don't know how to train dogs. These dogs here will bring you a beer, they'll open the can for you, but sometimes they'll drink it for you, too.' He said that was how well-trained the dogs were, and he was really amazed how much you can do with a dog once you've worked with them."

The dog Rusk liked to call "My boy, Eli" earned a reputation for wanting to be wherever his handler was. Eli didn't want to sleep on the ground; he slept in Rusk's sleeping bag. They even ate together outside after Rusk found out that Eli wasn't allowed to eat in the chow hall.

"He told a story of when they were in the chow line one time," the fallen Marine’s father said. "One of the Marines kicked at the dog one time and told him to get the dog out. Colton and the Marine got into a little scuffle. They told Colton he could stay inside and leave the dog outside, but from then on, Colton and Eli ate outside. That's how tight he and the dog were."

The family met Eli once when they visited Rusk at Camp Pendleton the week he deployed. After the retirement and adoption ceremony, the Rusks took Eli to their home on more than 20 acres of land, which he will share with the family, their horses and three German shepherds.

Jan Rusk said this was another way to honor her grandson’s memory, but it also will help the family as they continue to cope with their loss.

"Eli was a part of Colton, and now they have a little part of Colton back," she said.

Pre-K9: A Litter Prepares for Military Working Dog Training

This Belgian Malinois puppy isn’t content to be a household pet. She wants to work. You can take her for a long walk, but don’t put away the leash. She’s ready to go again. She creates problems to solve by putting her toy in a corner, but don’t try to get it for her. This dog wants to solve the problem herself. Rrespect, the military working puppy in training even drinks water with the toy in her bowl, not taking her eye off it for more than a few seconds. The toy is her prey.
Rrespect was one of eight puppies born June 2 at the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Breeding Program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Names of puppies like Rrespect and her siblings in the “R” litter begin with repeated letters to indicate they were bred through the program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
“I like to think of her like a smart child,” said Sarah Dietrich, Rrespect’s foster parent. “A smart child’s not going to be happy to sit at the computer all day. These dogs are the smart children, and they want to explore every corner of everything. You can see her future in her.”
Lackland is known as the dog mecca for all service branches, said Tracy Shaw, the breeding program contract manager when the “R” litter was born. DOD’s breeding colony provides one-third of all dogs procured for military working dog training and produces at least 100 puppies each fiscal year. Each litter size can range from two to 15 puppies. Eight of the 12 puppies in Rrespect’s litter survived a cesarean-section birth.
One of the foster parents’ most important responsibilities is helping their dogs become accustomed to the sights and sounds they’re likely to experience as military working dogs. Rrespect became accustomed to the sounds of other animals, people talking and other sounds as she accompanied Mrs. Dietrich to work every day at a local pet store.
Two weeks before the puppies’ birth, 341st Training Squadron dog trainer Bernie Green had to euthanize her retired Maryland State Police dog, Rruuk, because of cancer. She fostered one of the “R” litter puppies, and he was named after Rruuk. He accompanied Ms. Green daily on the training trailer with the adult dogs, so he visited detection training labs, aircraft and vehicle training lots and office buildings, and walked up and down stairways before he began his own training.
Staff Sgt. Samuel Durbin often took Rrigatoni to his job at the security forces armory at Lackland.
“When she is at work with me, we walk or ride everywhere, and she goes into any building on base,” Sergeant Durbin said. “She has a following at most places we go and demands a crowd everywhere. I’m very thorough on taking her into every kind of environment. She will go into any building, jump on anything she can reach, and has very few fears. If I go somewhere, she doesn’t want to be left behind.”
From Rrespect’s and the other puppies’ third through 16th day of life, breeding program puppy development specialists evaluated their reflexes and responses with early neurological stimulation exercises. The Army developed biosensor exercises to improve its dog performances in what became known as the “Super Dog Program.” Biosensor exercises affect the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would normally be expected and is believed to cause improved cardiovascular performance, stronger heartbeats and a greater resistance to disease and stress.
“We’re looking to find out what stresses the puppies and evaluate their responses,” Ms. Shaw said. “You introduce the stress, and the body recognizes it as conditioning.”
The handlers give Rrespect and her siblings five exercises that last from three to five seconds each. First, the handler gently tickles the puppy between the toes with a cotton swab. Next, the handler holds the puppy with both hands so its head is directly above its tail, then holds it firmly with both hands so its head is pointed toward the floor. The puppy is then resting in both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling before the thermal stimulation when it is placed feet-first on a damp, cool towel.
The eight puppies live in the whelping barn until they reach 8 weeks and puppy consultants administer the puppy aptitude test. The military developed the test from similar civilian tests that evaluate dogs for social attraction; social and elevation dominance; retrieval; and sight, sound and touch sensitivity.
“It’s a personality test in preparation to place these puppies with their foster homes,” said Lynnette Butler, a puppy consultant with the breeding program. “The first thing we do at this stage is social attraction. We test whether the puppy is willing to come to you or not. We generally like a puppy that’s willing to come to you readily with its tail up.”
Rrespect marches to puppy consultant David Concepcion-Garcia, who then places her on her back to see if she’s willing to be under a handler’s control. She fidgets a bit, not too comfortable with being held on her back. Next, Mr. Garcia backs away to see if she’s willing to come to him again after he held her down to test her social dominance.
When she does, Mr. Garcia picks up Rrespect and holds her for 30 seconds to test her elevation dominance. He then tosses a wad of paper, followed by a tennis ball, to test her retrieving skills. The evaluations conclude with tests of the puppy’s touch, sound and sight sensitivities, and her hunt drive. The consultant places about a dozen kibble in a cardboard box and watches how Rrespect uses her scent to find the treat.
At 12 weeks, foster consultants use information from the aptitude tests to place the puppies. Foster parents must live within two hours of Lackland because they must bring the puppies in for monthly medical evaluations and go on monthly hiking trips with other fosters in their dog’s litter. Fosters also must have a fenced-in backyard and cannot have any children under the age of 4 or more than three personal dogs.
The program provides a carrier, food, toys, bowls, collars, leashes, veterinary care and guidance, which includes helping to set realistic expectations for the type of dog they will have in their homes.
“You’re not getting a Lab,” Mr. Garcia said. “The drive is 100 times greater. We like to set expectations and give our fosters every tool we can.”
Months before Rrespect began her pre-training, she showed signs of her future in her foster parent’s home. She was Mrs. Dietrich’s third foster military working puppy. Mrs. Dietrich’s second puppy, Oopey, is now in military working dog training. Still, when Rrespect first entered the house, Mrs. Dietrich was surprised by her intelligence, problem-solving skills and focus on a toy, a sign that breeding program consultants associate with her prey drive. All are characteristics of the Belgian Malinois breed, which make them perfect military working dogs, handlers say.
“The first time I put a toy on the floor, I was amazed at the energy she went at this toy with,” Mrs. Dietrich said. “Twenty minutes later, she looked up at me. For 20 minutes, all she could think about was that toy. She parades around the house all the time with her toys. It’s called practicing possession.
“I’m either laughing my head off or having a headache every minute with her. There is no in-between.”
Names for military working puppies come from lists supplied by the DOD Military Working Dog Veterinary Service Hospital at Lackland, which generates a list from suggestions made by the general public at http://dogvet.amedd.army.mil. Names of fallen military working dog handlers or previous foster parents are given priority, however.
One dog in the “R” litter, Rromano, was named after a former foster parent, Col. Joseph Romano. Colonel Romano and his wife Karen fostered a military working dog while he was commander of the 37th Training Group at Lackland. He now monitors security coordination and special programs for the secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon. Their dog, Vviper, is now a working dog for the 802nd Security Forces Squadron and was a breeder for three litters in 2010. Colonel Romano said his wife treated Vviper like a child.
“His sense of smell was phenomenal,” he said. “Couple this with his bite and quickness, it was clear Vviper would be one hell of a military working dog, as long as Karen didn’t turn him into a domesticated pet.”
The puppy named after Colonel Romano is showing similar signs that he also will succeed as a working dog, said his foster, Kevin Cody. Mr. Cody works with the Transportation Security Administration at the San Antonio International Airport.
After having their dogs for six months, Mrs. Dietrich and her husband, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Dietrich, and the other foster parents said goodbye to Rrespect and the other puppies in December when the dogs returned to Lackland for adolescent training or pre-training, a sort of high school for the military working dog.
This is often a time of mixed emotions: pride of sending the dog to learn an important job mixed with the sadness of sending them away.
“Sometimes it’s like sending off a hyper child to day camp,” Mrs. Dietrich said. “Other times, it’s really heartbreaking. But you know they’re going to be doing what they love. You know they’re going off to do something they’re going to really enjoy. You want them to succeed, and you’re excited to see what they’re going to do with their lives. You’re raising a little soldier, and it’s your way to support the military.
“Look at that dog,” she said as Rrespect sniffed in the grass. “That dog wants to be doing that. She doesn’t want to be sleeping on the couch.”

Playful to Protective: Military Puppies' Potential

The day in the whelping barn at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, when we first met the eight puppies featured in Airman’s military working dog series, one question became our focus. We wanted to know how these Belgian Malinois pups, then 8-weeks-old and as playful as your typical household dog, would develop into the military working dogs that protect our troops and innocent citizens at some of the world’s most dangerous and violent places.
The series is designed to follow one of the puppies from birth to the day it becomes a fully-trained military working dog. The day our photojournalist, Tech. Sgt. Bennie Davis, and I were introduced to the puppies about two months after their June 2 birth, they were nipping at our feet, falling over their siblings, with paws landing helter-skelter on our legs. On our next visit about a month later, one of the puppies playfully crawled all over the back of photojournalist Lance Cheung and even tried to use his camera as a toy by dragging it across the floor.
As cute as these puppies were, I found it difficult to imagine the work both trainers and foster parents would face to develop them for the important work they have in their future. But even then, the puppies showed signs of their promise in what trainers call the piranha stage, when they try to latch on with their jaws on anything within striking distance, such as our pants and shoestrings.
We also saw some of the natural attributes of the breed when the breeding program’s puppy development specialists gave the litter the puppy aptitude test at the 8-week point. This test evaluates the puppies for social attraction; social and elevation dominance; retrieval; and sight, sound and touch sensitivity. But the three main things the specialists want to see in the dogs are prey and hunt drive and social attraction to a handler. All three attributes will be crucial to their future as military working dogs.
But we saw even more signs of promise the next time we saw the puppies, after they were placed in their foster homes at 12 weeks. Foster parents aren’t expected to teach obedience, as they might do with their own pets. Their responsibilities are mainly to make sure the dogs remain healthy and to introduce them to as many experiences as possible while they’re in their homes.
The most surprising thing I learned about fostering one of these dogs is that the ones with the most potential are often the most difficult to have in your home. As one foster parent in our story described it, fostering a military working puppy is like having an extremely intelligent child — one who’s always exploring, testing and finding trouble. “It’s really like having a toddler in your house again,” said Bernie Green, a 341st Training Squadron military working dog supervisory training instructor who fostered one of the puppies in the R litter. Foster parents endure their dogs’ crate and potty training, biting, chewing and digging, as well as the barking and whining, Sarah Dietrich, another foster parent, told us of her work with her third military working puppy, Rrespect. They also have a much stronger motor than most personal dogs. A walk around the block isn’t going to tire out a Beligan Malinois puppy. It will just get them ready for more exercise.
But fosters also get to see their puppies constantly exercising their considerable problem-solving skills. For example, one puppy’s favorite hobby is putting her toy in a difficult place, such as in a hard-to-reach corner or under a bed, just to figure out how to retrieve it again. But all of the drama becomes worthwhile as the foster parents begin to see their dog’s future more clearly. The dogs grew quickly, just in about a half-dozen meetings our staff had with them. They are physically beginning to resemble the size they will be as adult working dogs, when they will range from 55 to 75 pounds. But the most important changes that will happen will come during training, when they go through what amounts to college for the military working dog. This is when they learn basic obedience and skills like attacking on command and sniffing for specific substances.
Watching the puppies in action so far has given us part of the answer to the question we’re seeking. Rrespect and her siblings already show their problem-solving abilities and natural talents for sniffing and focus on potential prey, which they will all need when they eventually graduate from military working dog training and meet their first handler. I’ve a feeling we’ve just begun to answer the question about how this transformation happens. The next part of the answer should come when the puppies return from foster care to Lackland for puppy training sometime this month.

An ammunition can helps a military working dog handler learn one of the most important lessons of working with an animal in the Military Working Dog Handlers Course at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Handlers practice “praising” the ammo can for several days to help develop what instructors call the “paycheck” voice, before they are issued a dog for training in the course.
That voice becomes an essential part of the bond between the Airman and his dog and is especially crucial when they deploy to places like Afghanistan, as two MWD teams did in 2010.
Staff Sgt. Justin Kitts, a 56th Security Forces Squadron MWD handler at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., worked 63 missions outside the wire with his Belgian Malinois, Dyngo, while they were attached to the 101st Airborne Division at Forward Operating Base Wilson in the Zhari district. They found three improvised explosive devices while clearing routes for U.S. Army and Afghan troops during Kitts’ deployment.
Staff Sgt. Chris Keilman, a 902nd Security Forces Squadron MWD handler at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, doesn’t claim any IED finds while he was deployed to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force south of Kandahar province with his German shepherd, Kira. But Keilman takes just as much pride in the job he and Kira did to help keep troops safe from IEDs.
“I take pride knowing that while Kira and I were out working, my guys did not get blown up, killed or maimed,” he said. “Finding explosives is awesome, but as long as my guys, my dog and I came back safe, that’s my find.”
Kira was assigned to Keilman in December 2009, after he graduated from the canine handler’s course at Lackland. He received his deployment orders less than a month later while he was still trying to bond with his new canine partner.
“They told me it was going to be a tough break from her last handler because she was fairly attached to him,” Keilman said. “I ended up doing a month and a half of rapport work, with no commands. I was just running with her, being pretty much a playmate and establishing slight dominance with her, but not being really aggressive about it.
“It’s an always evolving relationship and taking new steps. She always has to continue to build confidence in me and me in her. She has to completely trust that I’m not going to do any harm to her and vice-versa.”
Both MWD handlers deployed several times in their security forces careers, but their first deployments with their dogs presented even more challenges. One major step was their first mission outside their forward operating bases.
“Even though I had deployed before, a lot of it was new to me,” Kitts said. “It’s a lot different when you step outside the wire. That initial first step outside the wire is when it really hits you what you’re actually doing. You know your job is to search for bombs that kill people. But something happens, and you don’t even think about what you’re supposed to do. You automatically do it because of the training you’ve had as a team to respond to different events. For me, I felt comfortable being outside the wire. I knew it was my job, and I went out and did it.”
During Keilman’s first time outside the wire, he and Kira walked ahead of a vehicle as they were on the way to their house, almost an hour’s walk.
“That was probably the most nerve-racking time, with that being our first time outside the wire,” he said. “You never know what to expect. There were other dogs, Afghan kids running around and adults, so you’re really on your toes and on edge.”
When a MWD detects an odor, the handler can instantly tell because there is a dramatic change in his behavior.  The behavior varies from dog to dog. Dyngo normally searches a wide area, but once he detects an odor, he will cut his search area as he closes in on his target.
While Kitts was deployed, MWD handlers in Afghanistan were shaken by the news of the first female handler killed on duty. Army Sgt. Zainah C. Creamer of the 212th Military Police Detachment at Fort Belvoir, Va., was killed by an IED while on duty in Kandahar in January. It was a somber reminder of how hazardous the job of the MWD handler is in Afghanistan.
There were times during Kitts’ deployment when Dyngo sensed he was upset and would nuzzle up to him. One day, it was the other way around — the handler had to comfort his dog. They were outside the wire during a firefight, but Dyngo wasn’t bothered by the AK-47 fire. As he and Kitts took cover behind a wall, a remotely powered grenade detonated a few feet away. The dog began whimpering and cowered down at Kitts’ feet. Kitts found a safer place and broke off a branch from a nearby tree, which gave Dyngo something to chew on and calmed him.
“If for some reason, I was the one to be shook, which happened numerous times during our deployment, he’d be there to comfort me in some way,” Kitts said. “I had to do it that one instance during the firefight. That demonstrates we are a MWD team, not just a dog and an Airman.”
Sometimes when a MWD team clears an area for their unit, troops will thank them for the dangerous work they do. Some just give Dyngo and Kira some positive attention when they return to the base. But no one has to say a word to let the handler know the importance of the work they do.
“For me, no one had to tell me anything,” Kitts said. “I knew what I was doing was valuable. But the whole time we were doing it, I thought it was really cool because this was what we’ve been training these dogs for. They get trained as puppies at Lackland to find bombs. A lot of the dogs don’t get to go to Afghanistan or Iraq and have a real-world find and do what we train these dogs to do.”

One Step Away Military Working Dogs Close in on the End of Training

On Oct. 26, 2010, nearly a month before he was scheduled to return home, Marine Sgt. Jonathon Blank lost both legs in an IED blast during a mission and was medically evacuated with three other wounded Marines.
Because of the higher improvised explosive device threat, many military working dogs from other areas had been moved to Kandahar province. As a result, Blank’s combat and reconnaissance patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, had entered a building in Sangin without the dog it had on earlier missions.
“If we had our dog with us, I know she would’ve found all the IEDs in that compound,” Blank said. “I’d probably still be walking around and serving today.”
While Blank was at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, working with the Belgian Malinois dog he adopted as his service animal in October, another group of dogs moved one step closer to their own duties as MWDs.
Seven of eight dogs in the “R” litter successfully completed puppy training, and four moved into the 341st Training Squadron’s Dog Training Section in August. Two of the dogs, including Rrespect, were in pool status while they awaited their training start date. One dog, Rrevae, didn’t qualify for dual training as explosives detection and patrol because of her reluctance to bite, but is training as a specialized search dog. Rrigatoni was the only “R” litter dog who didn’t make it into training. Her foster parent adopted her.
A couple of weeks into his training, Rruuk stood on his back legs in the DTS training lab for his 14-day progress check. He sniffed at a shelf 4 feet from the floor, detected an odor and then crouched into a sitting position to await his reward — a big, rubber ball from his trainer. Despite a caudectomy, a medical amputation of his tail, due to an injury caused by repeatedly slamming his tail against his kennel fence, Rruuk continues his rapid progress. He loves to search. He loves to bite. And he loves his reward for working.
“In my world, you don’t want a dog you have to coax to do anything ,” said Bernadine Green, the breeding program assistant manager and training supervisor, who also was Rruuk’s foster parent before he began puppy training. “You want a dog that comes right out of the gate and says, ‘Let’s go to work.’ He’s that kind of dog.”
Rrespect, Rruuk and the rest of the “R” litter were born June 2, 2010, at the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Breeding Program at Lackland. Their names begin with repeated first letters to designate them as products of the breeding program. Each litter is named with successive letters in the alphabet, restarting with an A after each Z litter.
When breeding program dogs complete puppy training, they move over to DTS training, which consists of 120 training days, split evenly between explosives detection and patrol work. Just as there is a major transition from foster care into puppy training, the dogs also have to adjust when they move into DTS training. They have one primary trainer, but also must work with trainers on a team ranging from four to seven people. Trainers quickly discovered from the first four “R” litter dogs that they learned much of what they needed from their puppy trainers.
“These dogs were bred for this,” Green said. “The breeding program trainers were able to do some advanced patrol training with them and even had the dogs on bite suits. They actually had the puppies searching, alerting and sitting on the training aids before they ever went over to DTS. They were doing training that the dogs normally would’ve done in DTS, so some of these puppies should burn through DTS training like nobody’s business. “
While Rruuk’s primary trainer, Tech. Sgt. Michael Iverson, was away on temporary duty a couple of weeks into his training, Staff Sgt. Victor Nelson stepped in his place. He saw in Rruuk much of what he’s observed in many dogs from the breeding program.
“I compare it to coaching Barry Sanders’ or Michael Jordan’s son,” Nelson said. “It’s just a matter of guiding them along the path. As far as genetics and talent, they already have it.”
The “R” and “U” litters were the only litters produced by two of the program’s most productive breeders – Arnold and Ssonja. So far, the “U” litter has shown as much, if not more promise than the “R” litter, with at least two “outstanding dogs,” said Dr. Stewart Hilliard, military working dog logistics chief. Then 7-month-old Uumbro particularly impressed with his bite work at an Air Education and Training Command seminar at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
Ssonja is now retired, but Arnold was bred with her sister Sscarlett for a litter that was whelped in October. The breeding program staff plans to continue this bloodline by breeding one of the “R” offspring, Rrespect, with a successful Belgian Malinois stud in the Netherlands named Robbie Smulders. The program already has a male, female and one complete litter sired by Robbie Smulders.
“This litter of dogs represents what we call a DOD bloodline,” Hilliard said. “[The ‘R’ litter] are the fourth generation of DOD breeding, and they are an outstandingly successful litter. Seven out of eight of these dogs passed their tests admitting them to training. What this showed us was that the combination of our most successful stud dogs with a dog from our bloodline could be very successful.
“One of the interesting things about breeding is there are no guarantees. Even if we’ve had a very successful breeding of a particular male and female, if we repeat the breeding, there is no guarantee the result is going to be as good as the first time. This shows you that genetics are highly variable, that environment plays a big role, and it is very subtle interactions between genetics and environment that lead to good working dogs.”
The “R” litter dogs are rapidly closing in on the end of their MWD training at Lackland and the day when most of them will get their base assignment and meet their first handlers. Once she completes her DTS training, Rrespect will remain at Lackland for breeding and to work as a training aid. Rruuk, Rromano, Rrobiek and Rroddie are scheduled to finish DTS training in early February, but trainers expect Rruuk to finish much sooner.
Meanwhile, Blank, who now has a computerized knee on his right side and a mechanical knee on his left, continues his rehabilitation. He’s working toward getting his final prosthetics while he also gets to know Kelsey, the 5-year-old Belgian Malinois he adopted as his service dog. He knows more than anyone how more dogs like those in the “R” litter could be lifesavers for Soldiers and Marines.
“I would say they’re priceless because they save lives and limbs of service members,” Blank said. “We had pictures of guys standing on the exact same spot my IED was. There are only so many things we can do with metal detectors and visually inspecting the area and probing the ground.
“As much as it costs to train a dog, to get a dog in service, in the end, their training and sacrifice saves Soldiers’ and Marines’ lives and keeps them in the fight,” Blank said. “If I had a dog there that day, I’d still be serving today, bringing all my knowledge and determination to the fight.”