Yahoo Finance Retired Military Dog Duke Needs Help Reaching His Forever Home in the U.S Ahead of the Holidays
Courtesy Paws of War
For years Duke, a working military dog, has served the United States, and now he is ready to retire.
According to a release from Paws of War, Duke recently received medical retirement clearance due to his advanced age after the canine's handlers noticed the dog slowing down.
Duke started his service as a puppy, going through specialized training to become a dual-purpose patrol and detector dog for the U.S. military. Over the past seven years, Duke has conducted important searches on vehicles, buildings, and patrol missions in the Middle East.
Now, after years of protecting others, Duke needs a little help himself. The devoted dog is ready to spend the rest of his list retired and relaxed. Unfortunately, none of Duke's handlers can adopt the dog due to their current deployments, but the canine still has plenty of fans.
After learning of Duke's retirement, Navy officer Adrianna, who lives at the same base as Duke, eagerly offered to adopt the dog. She adopted Duke while serving overseas, shortly after her first retired military dog pet passed away, and now needs help getting him to his forever home in the U.S.
Courtesy Paws of War
"He loves snuggles and constantly getting pets," Adrianna said in a statement. "Duke has transitioned so well into retired life, and I cannot wait to allow him to live his retirement in comfort and safety in the country he gave his entire life to protect."
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Adrianna is set to return to the U.S. soon. She wants Duke to be in America ahead of the holidays so that they can celebrate together in the dog's new forever home — but transporting a pet overseas is difficult. Paws of Wars — a nonprofit that helps military members and veterans care for their pets and has experience transporting pets overseas — is helping Adrianna get Duke home by handling the complicated logistics of the trip.
Paws of War is asking animal lovers to contribute to the retired canine's travel fund to help cover the expenses that come with safely transporting a dog from the Middle East to America.
Courtesy Paws of War
"We appreciate all the hard work that WMD Duke did in our military, and we are honored to help bring him back to the U.S.," Robert Misseri, co-founder of Paws of War, said. "We will need the help of the community to complete this mission, but we are confident people will want to give back to this military dog who gave so much."
To learn more about Duke and help get him home for the holidays, visit Paws of War's fundraiser page.
