Saturday 10 February Day 23

Warning, this is extra long because Sheila makes notes and then adds them to blog events, sometimes I can post them before she gets to them. I missed on this one

You will all be happy to know that I can’t gloat about weather today.  Forecast was for maybe showers, a bit of wind & cooler temps.   We got no wind or rain but it was a lot cooler.  It was 52 F at 9:30 this morning and now at 10:45 it is only 55 F. No WVB this morning, not only due to temp but we are going to a “Meal & Movie” event to do with military dogs and have to leave GVP about 11:30 to get there in time.  Larry Shafer came with us.  The meal was ready when we arrived.  It was spaghetti with 2 sauce choices, meat or a vegetarian sauce, plus salad, & garlic bread.  The movie was on a VHS tape called “Dogs of War” about the dogs who served in the Viet Nam War, their training & handlers.  It was really interesting and explained things we never knew about.  For instance, dog handlers & their dogs are very important to combat troops because they lead the troops through jungles as they seek to engage the enemy and the dogs are able to detect enemy snipers, smell bombs and trip lines long before the soldiers would and hence save many lives.  Obviously, this is one of the most dangerous jobs in the battalion and casualties amongst dogs and dog handlers were high.  In the Vietnam War, there were 500 dog casualties and 263 handler casualties.   The dogs, usually German Shepherds can do this because their vision is many, many times superior to human vision as is their hearing, and whereas humans average 4000 smell receptors in their noses, German Shepherds have 40,000!  For example, at a BBQ a man or woman will just smell a hamburger, but a dog smells Beef, bun, mustard, lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce.  Dogs can even smell a trip wire hidden in tall grass and show their handler where it is.  This became one of the most dangerous jobs in the patrols because, when the Viet Cong realized how effective the dogs were at alerting the American soldiers to danger, they began specifically targeting them and offering extra rewards to anyone of their soldiers bringing them the tattooed ear of a war dog and the tags of it’s handler--so casualties amongst dogs and dog handlers were high.  In the Viet Nam war, there were 500 dog casualties and 263 handler casualties.  The movie showed a bit of the training the dog handler & dogs must have before they go into combat.  It said it’s very important the personalities of the dog and dog handler match and they are encouraged to spend lots of time together before they go into combat so that they really bond.  That’s why some dogs have risked their lives and often died attempting to drag their wounded handler to safety while under enemy fire.  Also, the movie told of some dogs lying on top of their handler to protect him or her from enemy bullets.  After the movie, we learned even more interesting facts from John Kamp, a speaker who was an ex dog handler.  He said that without the dogs they would have added 10,000 to 20,000 more names to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC, (58,000 KIA).  He also talked about how the Air Force used German Shepherds as sentry dogs not only because of their high intelligence and enhanced senses, but because when they were trained to be aggressive to anyone but their handler, they were a very effective deterrent against saboteurs etc. because when they bite they can apply up to 750 lbs of pressure, i.e. easily breaking bones or causing death!

It was a long program, noon to after 5 PM, so when we got out, it was too late to have the BBQ at Larry’s we’d planned so we went to J & M restaurant, (one of our favourites), for supper.  Both Sheila & I both had the ribs which came with a fries, veggies & a salad & dessert plus coffee & tea for $24.16 incl. tax for both of us.  Then, it was home to the TV for the evening.