Soldier Dogs: Saving Lives and Capturing Bad Guys

    Cairo, a dog--specifically a Beligian Malinois, was probably the last dog Osama Bin Laden ever saw. If he even had a chance to see this soldier dog, as a stealthy Special Forces operation took him down. I had missed this news item last year but read of this dog, and other amazing dogs assisting all branches of the Armed Forces in  Soldier Dog: The Untold Story of America's Canine Heroes by Maria Goodavage.

    Dogs have been accompanying soldiers since war began. During the American Revolution at the Batttle of Gemantown in October 1777, a little terrier was found between American and British lines. He was wearing a collar that identified him as belonging to the British general, General Howe. George Washington, called a cease fire and returned the dog to the enemy general, with a note attached to his collar. "Howe was so impressed by Washington's honor that he began to take a more compassionate view of the colonists, and eventually resigned his post." (Goodavage, 224)

    The author of this amazing book shares so many fascinating stories and facts of amazing military war dogs. Dogs have provided more than just companionship to soldiers in the field. Their amazing noses (some 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than our own) are instrumental in detecting the horrific IED explosive devices that are unfortunately all too common in war zones. The US Armed Forces deploy many dogs who have saved countless lives with their special skill sets. There are even CTD dogs, that can detect not only the explosive but follow the trail of the scent left by the insurgent (up to four days old) and actually identify the insurgent that placed the explosive! Amazing! 

   The dog's fellow soldiers, particularly their handlers, have a deep respect for what these dogs accomplish. Unfortunately with all the budget cuts, the war dog training programs are in danger of being cut. How can that be, when one dog detecting an explosive saves so many human lives? After Vietnam these military working dogs were left behind, these days there is an adoption program for these heroic dogs to live out their retirement days on a couch in a loving home. Dogs are considered equipment by the military, but to the soldiers whose lives they save on a daily basis they are considered fellow soldiers in arms.

   Dogs and their handlers have died, and even been targeted by insurgents, while performing their life saving missions. They have saved so many civilian and military lives doing their job for the love of their handler and the opportunity to play with a Kong toy or tennis ball after they find their quarry. Handlers will shave their dogs front paws while in the field, because they will work themselves to the point of death from heat stroke. The dog will be carried to shelter and  life saving IV fluids started by their handlers. 114 degree working conditions on burned paws while wearing a fur coat is not a walk in the park.

   The stress of war is not just felt on the humans. Dogs, too, can suffer from PTSD . Some breeds suffer disproportionately, ie. labrador retrievers. It is estimated 5-15 percent of dogs suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The breed that was involved in the Special Forces raid on Bin Laden is less prone to suffering from PTSD, and this and German shepherds have formed the bulk of the dogs that are patrolling (not just sniffing, as other breeds). Countless human lives saved by man's best friend; clearly mankind has gotten the better end of the relationship.

   

The Hunger Games

The movie has been released based on the best selling book by Suzanne Collins. I always try to read the book before seeing the movie, and this is supposed to be a good one. So, I figured I would pick up the book prior to this week's release of the movie. I had first heard of the books a year ago but the story line put me off. Who would want to read about starving teens forced to fight? I read the first book, "The Hunger Games" and the following two books within forty eight hours.

This powerful mix of familiar themes makes quick reading for a wide range of audiences. There is familiar coliseum style fighting (to the death sponsored by a corrupt government) as in "The Running Man" movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The heroine of the book is a strong 15 year old female, and there is a love triangle as in the "Twilight" series. Reality show programming, and the jaded, well fed, couch sitting American public oblivious to the world's problems is a deeper theme. All put together, it just works superbly well in the hands of author Suzanne Collins.

Homeless to Harvard

The injustice we do to people when we label them, even while well intentioned is harmful. Before I return this book to it’s owner I must commend the author on her story and her life. Liz Murray is the author of Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and my Journey from Homeless to Harvard, a story of a harrowing childhood in a home plagued with mental illness and drug abuse. She became literally homeless and a student who was truant, defiant, and lost. She pulled herself up by her proverbial bootstraps after the death of her mother, enrolled in an alternative school (while still homeless) and was accepted to Harvard in spite of all this and more. The teachers at the alternative school inspired her but gave no slack (knowing nothing of her living conditions); while several teachers at her prior high school who did know some of her trials and tribulations felt sorry for her and nudged her along.

She said that when she was labeled as truant or a disciplinary problem “I saw failure in their eyes, then I was one….capable, then I was capable.” Even well intentioned teachers who “saw me as a victim-despite (her) good intentions-that’s what I believed about myself, too.” (p. 286) She dropped out of high school in her sophomore year while being labeled a victim, after nursing her mother through her last dying days. She returned to school, homeless, and overcame so much.

She did not let the label, victim of unfortunate circumstances, become a self-fulfilling prophecy. She graduated from Harvard in 2009 and today is a motivational speaker and runs a company that helps others fulfill their destinies. A truly amazing story of a truly amazing woman.

Confessions of a Surgeon

Confessions of a Surgeon is a book best read at home, not as a gift in a get well basket for any recovering family members or friends. An eye-opening read of health care systems (past and present) and the flaws that exist due to surgeons being human and health care systems being systems. The road to becoming a surgeon is a long and painful one resulting in a God-like complex in many a surgeon.  This surgeon defends his kingdom while shedding light on the problems inherent in such deification.

Your insurance company, your hospital, and your government know more about the skills of a surgeon than you will know in the present system. All of these bodies tabulate figures on outcomes because bad outcomes cost more money. The likelihood of success of one's surgeon would be desirable for a patient to know going into a prospective surgery, but this data is not available to the general public.  (This information is provided quarterly to all surgeons, however.) The best advice the author can give is to ask your prospective surgeon what his/her complication rate is on the procedure you require (and then hope to compare it with the national average for the same, if you can obtain such a figure.)

Surgeons being human, there are good ones and bad ones. Nice ones and mean ones. Lucky ones and unlucky ones. They all worked very hard to get where they are today.  But you probably don't want the brand new one, or the one who all of his/her colleagues know should have retired ten years ago. And remember, the ones with crappy bedside manner may have the best technique in the world. 

This author does not want to see increased regulation of his practice, and is an unabashed old school kind of guy. A bit of a male chauvinist brought up in the residency days of working with no sleep for days on end he has little patience for the next batch of surgeons coming up the ranks. But as he points out with burn-out being so high from the rigors of the job one can only hope that they are quick learners as more surgical services are needed for an aging population. You can pick your surgeon to the best of your ability for your elective surgery. But in the middle of the night when an emergency requires surgical intervention it is a crapshoot .  Whomever is on call will provide your services to the best of their ability, with the best equipment provided to them by the hospital (and allowed by the insurance company), with whatever sleep they managed to get before your procedure.

 An interesting read for any persons involved in health care as an occupation or as a prospective patient. The reader will appreciate surgeons more for what they have endured and endure on a daily basis. The reader will also wish for a more transparent system to provide for the safety of the general population after reading some of the stories contained within these pages.

Michelangelo's Pieta

I just finished reading Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy, a biographical novel of the life and works of Michelangelo. Despite the enormity of his work in the Sistine Chapel his sculpture of the Pieta is the one I look forward to seeing the most this coming summer. A sculptor at heart, he was forced to paint to make ends meet per Stone's biography. 


This work was completed when he was just 24 years old. It was not his first Madonna figure. The author does the sculptor justice as he describes the challenges of sculpting the Mother of Jesus. When he was describing the sculptor's thought processes he writes:


"Could so important a task, the most important assigned to any human since Moses, have been forced upon Mary without her knowledge and consent?...And if she did have freedom of choice, would she be likely to exercise it?...Once she accepted, must she carry the burden from that moment until the day that her child was crucified?...Was ever mortal woman cast in so pain-fraught a dilemma?" (Stone, 139)


I have read another biography by Irving Stone, The President's Lady. This was not as quick of a read--as the political climate of ancient Rome was more complex than that of early American history. Michelangelo was subject to the whims and machinations of more than five popes through his lifetime. So much more beauty could have come from this great artist if not for the battles these Popes created within Italy, the papacy, Florence, and in Michelangelo's life in particular. 

Fed Up: Rick Perry

Today Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, gave up his presidential aspirations and is returning to the good people of Texas. Although not eloquently written, his assertion that Americans are "Fed UP: Our Fight to Save America from Washington" is clearer than his debate performances. I admittedly liked him on paper before I ever heard him open his mouth (I do prefer a Commander in Chief with prior military experience.) His ghost writer wasn't on the dais with him in the debates, unfortunately. When he retires from public office I do not expect to the governor on the lecture circuit!

In case you missed the book the premise is that Americans are best served by local government. Since your local legislator is more apt to listen to you and your legislator in Washington is too far removed from American life. Whether Democrat or Republican I think we can all agree on that. Beyond that, the book feeds the Inner Tea Partier within you...if you have one.

I thought the most intriguing part of the book was the following:

"We can all still be proud Americans while acknowledging that we simple do not agree on many fundamental issues. We are a diverse people-incapable of being governed from a faraway capital by people who do not share our values. Recognizing this fact is critical to the preservation of a free state. Federalism enables us to live united as a nation, with a federal government that is focused on our national security and that has specific enumerated powers, while we live in states with like-minded people who share our values and beliefs. Crucial to understanding federalismin modern-day America is the concept of mobility, or the "ability to vote with your feet." If you don't support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol, don't come to Texas. If you don't like medicinal marijuana and gay marriage, don't move to California." (p. 13)

I know Pennsylvanians are viewed as clinging to their guns and religion, but he is pure Texan, isn't he? Unapologetically, pure Texan. He does come across as a Texan first, an American second: even if you concede that the Federal government often encroaches on state's rights. A difficult platform to run on for the president of the fifty states in the United States of America.

Dogs Understand Fairness

• Anyone who has ever given one dog two biscuits and another dog only one, intuitively understands that dogs understand injustice. Horowitz cites an experiment that proves this "dogs who see another dog getting a reward for doing an act-shaking a paw on command-but who do not themselves get rewarded for the same act eventually refuse to shake anymore. (No rewarded dog was moved by the clear injustice of the situation to share his earned bounty with his unlucky partner, though..." (Horowitz, 204) Dogs get fairness.

It is not fair that we can't understand what our dogs are thinking, our beloved silent companions. This author makes light of her statement that a dog's tail has never been studied thoroughly as a communication tool. She does however attempt to rectify this omission. The body language of dogs is studied and interpreted so that you too, can understand what your dog is trying to tell you.

If only we understood their nonverbal clues as well as they understood ours. Through the natural selection of dogs from wolves our furry friends have literally made a living off of interpreting our nonverbal signals. If only we understood them as well as they understand us. Reading this book will put you one step closer to understanding what Fido is experiencing and saying to you.