Dragoon 45 Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 For those of you who did not know this, it is now possible to adopt retired military working dogs. I have seen a couple of BC's doing this kind of work but not many. But this is not about a BC but about a 7 YO black lab. Cole started out life as a bird dog prospect for a USMC LTC. Cole went through his first three years of life as a family pet and then a bird dog. I don't know why the LTC donated Cole to the USMC, but at 3 YO, Cole was retrained as an IED detection dog. After training Cole spent three years at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan going on almost daily patrols. In the course of Cole's service, he was at least three times within the blast radius of an IED. No records were kept on how many IED's Cole found but I would guess it was at least 100 if not many more. How many Marines owe their lives to Cole's actions I do not know. Cole paid for his loyal service, he lost his tail in one IED blast. He now has some health problems due to his service, but a vet is seeing to that. Cole had finally done his duty and the USMC determined it was time to retire him. His former owner the LTC could not take him back for what ever reason. His last handler didn't have a place for him, although he tried. Enter a lady named Judy from Tulsa. How she found out about Cole I have no idea. She doesn't have any children in the military, but she felt she should offer her home to Cole. She paid for all the travel expenses, vet expenses, and every thing else involved to transport Cole from Afghanistan to Tulsa Ok. Cole now has a new home where hopefully he will never again be called upon to sniff for explosives. He has a new sister, a GSD named Samantha. And most importantly he has a place on a king sized bed to call his own. I met Cole for the first time today,a large Black Lab without a tail. Even though he no longer has to, he still patrols his area, sniffing to make sure nothing is there that shouldn't be. For all he has gone through, he is friendly and still enjoys chasing a tennis ball. His biggest quirk, scratch his back and he will arch it and rub your legs just like a cat. He is trying to figure out how to play with other dogs, but I have no doubt he figure out how to do it. After all he was a Marine. I don't have a moral to this story. I just wanted people to know that there are four-legged veterans out there to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Neat story. Thanks for sharing. I hope other canine heroes are as lucky as Cole when it comes time for them to retire. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thanks for telling Cole's story. May he enjoy a long and luxurious retirement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Very cool! I hope Cole has many easy, fun, safe years of retirement ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrecar Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 What a wonderful story. These dogs truly are heroes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewie'sMom Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Hurray for Cole, and for all our military and families! God bless ya'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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