Members of Team Hill's Thrift Shop and the Golden Spike Dog Obedience Club traveled to the 75th Security Forces Military Working Dog's kennel on base recently to see their donations in action.
Hhouston, a military working dog, and his handler, Staff Sgt. Matt Wilson, bounded through the freshly shoveled path on the snowy training grounds to which five new inches of snow had been added. Tech. Sgt. Jason Hanisko, one of the handlers, spoke to the group while Wilson and Hhouston ran the course, reporting the see-saw and suspended platform had been the hardest challenges for the dogs as they learned to stabilize themselves on the obstacles.
After the demonstration, the bite suit was brought out and another dog got to show off his jaw strength as Heros demonstrated his response to attack commands. After Heros was heeled, the handler let him play fetch for the rest of the time. Kennel Master Tech. Sgt. Jason Hanisko spoke with the group outside the enclosed training area.
Brigitte Di Vito, the Thrift Store manager, said she thought the demo was really neat, "Even though the dogs are trained to only attack on command, I was glad there was a fence," she laughed.
Di Vito had heard through a friend that the military working dogs needed some new equipment. And Laurie Hope, the shop's vice chairwoman and the secretary of the Golden Spike Dog Obedience Club, jumped at the idea.
Collectively, the two entities donated about $2,500 in equipment to the unit. The Thrift Shop donated five harnesses and five obstacles for the dogs, while the club donated five additional harnesses.
"The thing about the dogs is, not having the proper training is a shame," said Hope.
The dogs, at their base level of training, cost about $10,000 and the longer a dog sits without the proper training, the less receptive they are to new training. At the end of their military careers, which average about eight years, a dog has had upwards of $40,000 worth of training.
Each dog receives their basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas before moving on to get paired with their handlers. All the dogs at Hill are both bomb and narcotics training.
Staff Sgt. Erick Martinez said the new equipment means a new challenge for him and his dog, Argo.
"It builds confidence in the dog, they learn obedience and how to push through," said Martinez.
