US WAR DOG ASSOCIATION | NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
When an insurgent rocket attack badly injured Cpl. Dustin Lee while he was on patrol in Iraq, his shrapnel-impaled partner, Lex, picked himself up to lie over Lee – an effort to protect him. “He knew Dustin was injured,” said Lee’s mom, Rachel. Lex was his bomb-sniffing dog. Lee didn’t survive his injuries, but Lex…
Now that military dogs are taking on a larger role in combat, they’re also taking on more of the risks that come with going to war, including developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The New York Times reports that more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 deployed military dogs are developing some form of canine PTSD. While…