The monument to war dogs and their handlers will be dedicated during a ceremony today.
We have posted many times about the bravery and loyalty exhibited by military war dogs over the past hundred years. . .as well as the failures of humans to care for these dogs after their service is over. On this Veterans Day, Columbia, South Carolina will take a small step toward acknowledging the importance of dogs to our military efforts when a new monument is unveiled:
This Veterans Day, that dream will become a reality in a 3 p.m. ceremony to dedicate the $130,000 bronze statue of a handler and his German shepherd. The kneeling soldier is about seven feet tall and weighs 1,400 pounds. The statue of the dog stands four feet tall and weighs 300 pounds.
The story about the monument in The State offers a sobering look at the way these dogs have been treated in the past, and it looks forward to a better future.