SAGINAW GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
FROM SHARED KNOWLEDGE
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DID YOU KNOW:
AUGUST: The eighth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar is August, which comes between July and September and has
31 days. It is named after Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, in 8 BCE. However, August's original name was Sextilus, which is Latin for "sixth month" and reflects its position in the early Roman calendar. The month of August is often referred to as the "dog days of summer" but not because of our pet pooches but because of the star Sirius. Dog Days bright and clear Indicate a happy year; But when accompanied by rain, For better times, our hopes are vain. So in ancient Greece and Rome, the Dog Days were believed to be a time of drought, bad luck, and unrest, when dogs and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat! Today, the phrase doesn’t conjure up such bad imagery. Instead, today the Dog Days are associated purely with the time of summer’s peak temperatures (and humidity). |
MONTH: AUGUSTThe constellation of LEO is one of the easiest to spot over Earth inspiring both mythology and cutting-edge astronomy.
One of the most prominent constellations of the night sky, Leo the Lion is visible from pretty much anywhere on Earth, except for Antarctica. This means humanity has founded a wealth of myths and legends around the constellation.
In the modern age, Leo is the home in the sky of a wealth of objects of great scientific interest meaning skywatchers and astronomers today are as fascinated with the lion as were antiquity's astrologers and myth-weavers. Leo is part of the twelve constellations that comprise the zodiac with the others being Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. It follows the naming convention of these groupings taking its name from an animal. |
SPEAKER INFOEVERYONE IS OUT AT THE CEMETERIES!!
ITS SUMMERTIME GO AND ENJOY! But Why Are They Called the “Dog Days” of Summer?
This period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—which is where Sirius gets its canine nickname, as well as its official name, Alpha Canis Majoris. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, not including our own Sun. 
OR YOU COULD JUST WHISTLE!
(Here boy, here Sirius!) |
SGS NEWSSGS MEETING RECAPMEETING IN: JULY
There was NO meeting in July or in August. That's because its the SUMMERTIME!!
So what have YOU been doing besides sleeping in? (LOL) I have been working hard on multiple projects: 1. Helping others document and put their tree either in Ancestry.com or on FamilySearch.org or on both! 2. Making corrections and adding photos in my own tree on Ancestry and FamilySearch. 3. Getting a few projects done on our house. 4. Getting all the Treasurer stuff caught up. 5. Visiting friends and family. ENJOY YOUR SUMMER, SEE YA IN THE FALL !
ROOTSTECH VIDEOS...
How long will RootsTech sessions be available on the website after the conference? We will keep most of the classes and keynotes from RootsTech up on our sister site THE HISTORY KEY, for approximately three years. Most classes will be available until the THE FOLLOWING YEAR'S conference. SO...Where do I go to watch them? Well, Check it out below! DID YOU ALSO KNOWThere is ONE safe place to store all your photos and stories... FOREVER.
Safely stored 600 ft. underground. And also
duplicated inside YET another mountain. Yeah...We got you covered! FamilySearch.org is a non-profit and totally free! MILITARY SERVICE: CIVIL WARSix Steps To Find Your Civil War Veterans and Their Regiments
To get the most out of Civil War Stories, you need to know who in your tree might have a story! We show you how in just 6 steps to find those people. MILITARY RECORDS:MILITARY RECORDS-ANCESTRY.COM
CHECK THIS INFO OUT
YOU MAY FIND HELP HERE FOR YOUR SEARCH! YOUR GENEALOGY NEEDS MET AT YOUR LOCAL FSC!
WE are the FamilySearch Center, sponsored by the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, an international organization dedicated to helping ALL people worldwide discover their family story.
ARE you looking for help in YOUR Family tree? HERE, you will be shown how to begin a FREE TREE that will be placed online for any of your family members to help share more information about your deceased ancestors. That will enable family around the world to easily retrieve and use this information in search of their family members. FOR over twenty years FamilySearch.org has helped millions of families gather their ancestors. Since it's inception, on May 24, 1999. There are now over 7 million page views each day on www.FamilySearch.org YOU can contribute towards finding your family by starting a FREE ONLINE TREE and gathering and documenting your family for your loved ones. ALWAYS, at FamilySearch we believe connections to our family members past-present-and future can be a source of great joy that helps us to understand our own personal identity and may even help us overcome some of our own challenges in life. WE WANT TO HELP YOU save and share your FAMILY MEMORIES before it’s too late, and they disappear, never to be found again. IT'S FREE, IT'S EASY AS... 1,2,3 ! OR CALL FOR ONLINE HELP AT:
FamilySearch open 24 hrs./7 days a week! 1-866-604-1830 
WHERE HISTORY HOLDS THE KEY! This is a FREE website that promotes self learning. If you want to start a FREE Family Tree on FamilySearch, OR begin family research on Ancestry, or learn how to index records, then... THIS IS THE PLACE! And we also keep track of all the Rootstech videos for you to find RIGHT here. SO COME ON... Learn at HistoryKEY.org which also connects you to the 1950 census! Just click below. FRESHLY UPDATED JUST FOR YOU! WHAT'S ON THE TUBE?Want to know more about INDEXING?
Check out this YOU TUBE VIDEO, A SELF HELP TUTORIAL ... Enjoy :) PRE-REGISTER PLEASE
ALL VISITORS OR NEW MEMBERS
MUST PRE-REGISTER Please note: Invite LINK is sent the day BEFORE the meetings. SO REGISTER TODAY! SQUARE IS HERE FOR YOU
Pay your SGS membership or donate,
with just a few clicks. SQUARE is EASY, SAFE, AND NO HASSLE! (click the SQUARE icon above to pay) MICHIGAN GENEALOGICAL COUNCIL
ANNOUNCEMENT!!
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THE SAGINAW FSC IS OPEN!
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TIMBERTOWN LOG
Misplaced the last issue of the Timbertown Log?
CONTACT US AT: [email protected]
Not a member, and curious to see?
TO READ MORE, CLICK THE LINK BELOW
CONTACT US AT: [email protected]
Not a member, and curious to see?
TO READ MORE, CLICK THE LINK BELOW
MORE INTERESTING STUFF
NOW OPEN AND RARIN' TO GO!
CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE
A PLACE TO ASK QUESTIONS
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This guide shows you how to find BILLIONS of FREE birth, death, marriage and census records!
ANCESTRAL FINDINGS
Oral histories are a valuable genealogical resource. This is what you need to know about the value of oral histories, where to find them, and how to do them yourself with your own relatives. Click below to learn.
MICHIGAN LIBRARY CARDS
FREE!
Are you a Michigan library card holder?
Did you know that you can now access HUNDREDS of Michigan’s state parks, historic sites, recreation areas and campgrounds for either
FREE
or discounted admission? You can even use it to visit any of the Seven National Park venues in this state!
FOR FREE
CLICK BELOW FOR MORE INFO
Are you a Michigan library card holder?
Did you know that you can now access HUNDREDS of Michigan’s state parks, historic sites, recreation areas and campgrounds for either
FREE
or discounted admission? You can even use it to visit any of the Seven National Park venues in this state!
FOR FREE
CLICK BELOW FOR MORE INFO
SAGINAW PUBLIC LIBRARIES
HOYT LIBRARY
...remembering the past
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to see the video |
FREE SAGINAW OBITUARIES
Saginaw Libraries have over
200,00+ OBITUARIES
for you to find.
Click on the link below:
200,00+ OBITUARIES
for you to find.
Click on the link below:
GET ANSWERS
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Brick wall? Stumped?
Lost?
WE ARE HERE,
AND READY
TO HELP YOU!
Lost?
WE ARE HERE,
AND READY
TO HELP YOU!
With the combined efforts of our
board-members
we try to find you an answer for
Saginaw County Ancestors.
Click above on the Miss Betty Icon.
OR GO TO: ASK MISS BETTY
and fill out the form.
We don't charge for the help
(but we DO take donations).
board-members
we try to find you an answer for
Saginaw County Ancestors.
Click above on the Miss Betty Icon.
OR GO TO: ASK MISS BETTY
and fill out the form.
We don't charge for the help
(but we DO take donations).
REMEMBRANCE FUND
PLEASE REMEMBER US,
SO WE CAN REMEMBER YOU!
FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH OR PRESERVATION
THE DONATION IS MADE
IN YOUR NAME. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE EMAIL TO:
[email protected]
SO WE CAN REMEMBER YOU!
FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH OR PRESERVATION
THE DONATION IS MADE
IN YOUR NAME. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE EMAIL TO:
[email protected]
MICHIGAN-STATE GENEALOGY
The website for all things pertaining to HISTORICAL RESEARCH
and documents for the
STATE OF MICHIGAN.
CHECK US OUT!
and documents for the
STATE OF MICHIGAN.
CHECK US OUT!
DID YOU KNOW?
NEWSBANK can be used for FREE with your public library card ID number. This website has newspapers to search thru for obituaries!
GIVE IT A TRY!
GIVE IT A TRY!
FREE HELPS
17 ALL FREE GREAT
WEBSITES FOR GENEALOGY!
1. CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT.
2. PACK A LUNCH. (JUST KIDDING)
3. SO MUCH TO SEE AND DO HERE!
WEBSITES FOR GENEALOGY!
1. CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT.
2. PACK A LUNCH. (JUST KIDDING)
3. SO MUCH TO SEE AND DO HERE!
FREE GENEALOGY SITES
LAND SAKES ALIVE! HERE'S 50 MORE!!
CHECK OUT OUR Fb SITE!
IT'S A HOOT!
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NEWS FOR RESEARCHERS!
FREE GENEALOGY WEBINARS!!!
Everything you ever wanted to know about USING FamilySearch and SO MUCH more! JUST CLICK BELOW!
Everything you ever wanted to know about USING FamilySearch and SO MUCH more! JUST CLICK BELOW!
SGS PIONEER CERTIFICATES
Give a
FOREVER GIFT...
your family will forever remember!
FOREVER GIFT...
your family will forever remember!
*Ancestor documentation is vetted by our Society.
*Your ancestor will be noted on our website
AND YOU RECEIVE:
*A handsome embossed certificate *
Suitable for framing, or documentation for your ancestors who lived in Saginaw County
along with their VETTED pedigree.
*Your ancestor will be noted on our website
AND YOU RECEIVE:
*A handsome embossed certificate *
Suitable for framing, or documentation for your ancestors who lived in Saginaw County
along with their VETTED pedigree.
MORE HELP
How SideView™ Technology Splits Your DNA Results by Parent
When YOU first read your DNA, ...you don’t know which parts of your DNA came from each parent. Ancestry® developed a technology called SideView™ to sort this out using DNA matches. Because a match is usually related to you through only one parent, your matches can help us “organize” the DNA you share with them.
SideView™ technology powers your ethnicity inheritance—the portions of each region you inherited from each parent. This enables us to provide your ethnicity inheritance without testing your parents (though we don’t know which parent is which).
SideView™ technology powers your ethnicity inheritance—the portions of each region you inherited from each parent. This enables us to provide your ethnicity inheritance without testing your parents (though we don’t know which parent is which).
NEED GENEALOGY GIFTS?
BEV PALMER used to live in Saginaw, she is a fellow genealogist and has started this business. Lots of cool stuff - from babies to bags, and from T-shirts to tags, she's got it all!
check it out below!
check it out below!
LINKS FOR OUR READERS
CLICK ON BLACK TITLES |
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GENEALOGY HELPS
What is ThruLines?
ThruLines shows identified descendants of a given ancestor who have tested with AncestryDNA, and share DNA with the tester whose results are being reviewed.
ThruLines replaces Shared Ancestor Hints, and greatly expands upon the data provided by those hints.
ThruLines provides the opportunity to view connections that would take a great deal of research to find manually.
ThruLines is accessible from “Your DNA Results Summary” under DNA in the top menu bar on Ancestry. To have access to ThruLines data, your family tree must be PUBLIC, and linked to your DNA test.
To check this, do these 3 steps:
1. Go to Your DNA Results Summary, and
2. Click on the Settings button (near the top right corner of the screen).
3. Follow the instructions in the Family Tree Linking section.
AncestryDNA® ThruLines®
ThruLines® shows you how you may be related to your DNA matches.
We use the ANCESTRY family tree linked to your test to find people who are in your tree and are also in your matches's linked trees. If your tree is private and not searchable, you won't be able to see ThruLines, and information from your matches' trees that are private and not searchable won't be available to you. DNA matches may appear in more than one of your ThruLines.
ThruLines are available for ancestors through 5th great-grandparents.
SORRY, ThruLines won't appear for 6th great-grandparents and beyond.
ThruLines shows identified descendants of a given ancestor who have tested with AncestryDNA, and share DNA with the tester whose results are being reviewed.
ThruLines replaces Shared Ancestor Hints, and greatly expands upon the data provided by those hints.
ThruLines provides the opportunity to view connections that would take a great deal of research to find manually.
ThruLines is accessible from “Your DNA Results Summary” under DNA in the top menu bar on Ancestry. To have access to ThruLines data, your family tree must be PUBLIC, and linked to your DNA test.
To check this, do these 3 steps:
1. Go to Your DNA Results Summary, and
2. Click on the Settings button (near the top right corner of the screen).
3. Follow the instructions in the Family Tree Linking section.
AncestryDNA® ThruLines®
ThruLines® shows you how you may be related to your DNA matches.
We use the ANCESTRY family tree linked to your test to find people who are in your tree and are also in your matches's linked trees. If your tree is private and not searchable, you won't be able to see ThruLines, and information from your matches' trees that are private and not searchable won't be available to you. DNA matches may appear in more than one of your ThruLines.
ThruLines are available for ancestors through 5th great-grandparents.
SORRY, ThruLines won't appear for 6th great-grandparents and beyond.
IN THE PAST...
FREE WEBINARS
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FamilySearch - Family Search Library Free Online Webinars
2024 classes are now online!
No registration is required.
Class size for webinars is NOT limited.
See the table of webinars below for more details.
2024 classes are now online!
No registration is required.
Class size for webinars is NOT limited.
See the table of webinars below for more details.
If you cannot attend a LIVE EVENT, most sessions are recorded and can be viewed later at your convenience at the following link:
SEARCH TIPS
6 Ancestry Search Tips
1. Pinpoint your ancestor’s location from the census, on a MAP, and then look for churches, cemeteries, and other places where your ancestor may have left records.
2. Be sure to locate your ancestor’s ADULT SIBLINGS in census records. It was common for extended family to live in the same household or near other family members. You may find a parent, grandparent, or other family members living either with them or nearby.
3. If you’re having a difficult time locating your ancestor, try searching, using only GIVEN names and other details like birth year, residence, family members, place of birth, etc.
4. Occasionally, census takers only recorded initials in place of the given name. Using only a FIRST INITIAL will bring up these records.
5. Census takers didn’t always have the best penmanship, so if you’re having a hard time locating your ancestor, write out the NAME and try replacing some of the letters, with letters that look similar. (Try an O for an A, try an J for a P, try a F for an S.)
6. The U.S. federal censuses for the years 1900 TO THE 1930 include a DATE OF IMMIGRATION for immigrants. Use that date to narrow your search for your ancestor’s passenger arrival record in the Immigration Collection.
FMH TOOL KIT
click below How do I keep track of my Family Medical History?
If possible, look at DEATH CERTIFICATES and FAMILY MEDICAL RECORDS. Collect information about your parents, sisters, brothers, half-sisters, half-brothers, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. How you make your request will depend on your provider's processes. You may be able to request your record through your provider's patient portal. You may have to fill out a form — called a health or medical record release form, or to request for access—send an email, or mail or fax a letter to your provider. For more info click below on:
https://www.healthit.gov/how-to-get-your-health-record/get-it/#:~:text=How%20you%20make%20your%20request,a%20letter%20to%20your%20provider.
Family members share genes, habits, lifestyles, and surroundings.
These things can affect health and the risk for illness. Most people have a relative with a chronic disease or a health condition such as high cholesterol. If you have a close family member with a chronic disease, you may be more likely to get that disease.
BE INFORMED!
How far back should I go for family medical history?
The CDC recommends taking a family health history that includes at least three generations. You should include your grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and cousins on both sides of your family. If you have children, include them, too.
MAKE SURE TO RECORD THIS INFO!
What if I don't know my family's medical history?
If you have your birth parents' names, public records such as birth or death certificates may give you more insight into your family's background. Also ask your adoptive parents or the adoption agency whether they have any information that could give you more information about YOUR family medical history.
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!
Your family health history plays an important role in your health.
Download FREE copies of our family health history toolkit to share with your family, friends, and colleagues. Take this important step for YOUR health. DO IT NOW!
If possible, look at DEATH CERTIFICATES and FAMILY MEDICAL RECORDS. Collect information about your parents, sisters, brothers, half-sisters, half-brothers, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. How you make your request will depend on your provider's processes. You may be able to request your record through your provider's patient portal. You may have to fill out a form — called a health or medical record release form, or to request for access—send an email, or mail or fax a letter to your provider. For more info click below on:
https://www.healthit.gov/how-to-get-your-health-record/get-it/#:~:text=How%20you%20make%20your%20request,a%20letter%20to%20your%20provider.
Family members share genes, habits, lifestyles, and surroundings.
These things can affect health and the risk for illness. Most people have a relative with a chronic disease or a health condition such as high cholesterol. If you have a close family member with a chronic disease, you may be more likely to get that disease.
BE INFORMED!
How far back should I go for family medical history?
The CDC recommends taking a family health history that includes at least three generations. You should include your grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and cousins on both sides of your family. If you have children, include them, too.
MAKE SURE TO RECORD THIS INFO!
What if I don't know my family's medical history?
If you have your birth parents' names, public records such as birth or death certificates may give you more insight into your family's background. Also ask your adoptive parents or the adoption agency whether they have any information that could give you more information about YOUR family medical history.
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!
Your family health history plays an important role in your health.
Download FREE copies of our family health history toolkit to share with your family, friends, and colleagues. Take this important step for YOUR health. DO IT NOW!
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
SO HOW OBSERVANT ARE YOU?
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
DID YOU NOTICE THE:
THE LION?
THERE IS ONLY ONE TO FIND!
AND I'M NOT LYING!
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
DID YOU NOTICE THE:
THE LION?
THERE IS ONLY ONE TO FIND!
AND I'M NOT LYING!
AMAZING STORIES
Every Wednesday The Weekly Genealogist provides readers with news and information about NEHGS and the genealogical community. Features include a description of the latest database
on AmericanAncestors.org, a spotlight, an editor’s column, a survey question, stories of interest, and announcements about bookstore items, educational opportunities, and special offers.
on AmericanAncestors.org, a spotlight, an editor’s column, a survey question, stories of interest, and announcements about bookstore items, educational opportunities, and special offers.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
FOOD & FAMILY
Did you know...family recipes are a tradition!?!
GO AHEAD...Make it with family!
GO AHEAD...Make it with family!
What food is most popular in
SUMMER?
Well, that would be anything associated with cool temps and
easy meals!
SUMMER?
Well, that would be anything associated with cool temps and
easy meals!
85 Easy Summer Dinner Recipes Perfect for a Warm Night
Hot weather won't stop you from a good meal.BY KARA ZAUBERMAN Updated: Jul 31, 2024
Hot weather won't stop you from a good meal.BY KARA ZAUBERMAN Updated: Jul 31, 2024
Quick and Easy Summer
Dinner Recipes
Let's face it: The last thing we want to do on the first day of summer is spend time inside in the kitchen! But just because you want to make the most of the sunshine doesn't mean you have to sacrifice flavor for summer sun by making lackluster salads or frozen meals. Instead, look to this list of summer dinner ideas to satisfy all your cravings.
If you're gearing up for a barbecue or planning a delightful picnic at the park, you've come to the right place. Ahead, you'll find an array of summer recipes designed to simplify your dinner routine, including quick 30-minute meals, marinated chicken dishes, flavorful pasta salads, and creative ways to incorporate seasonal summer veggies onto your dinner plate.
If easy grilling ideas are more your style, you can't have a roundup without plenty of burgers (beef burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, and more), plus creative ideas for hot dogs including one to make in your handy air fryer.
Looking to make the most of seasonal garden produce? Try the show-stopping tomato pie, stuffed zucchini, or a summer pasta made with fresh pesto. You can also keep cool and make a splash with fun pool party food ideas like shrimp skewers or zucchini mini pizzas.
Or skip the grill and stove completely and make a refreshing summer salad featuring creamy burrata and marinated tomatoes instead. Of course, you'll want to round out any of these meals with some frozen desserts and a batch of refreshing summer cocktails to really beat the heat.
JUST SO YOU KNOW...I do try these recipes myself. Well, not ALL of them but so far I have done the following recipes: #5,#20,#25, #28, #31, #40, #52, #60, #63, #64, #71 and #72
(It was all food my fussy husband would eat.)
GET YOUR RECIPES NOW WHILE THEY'RE FRESH!!!
Dinner Recipes
Let's face it: The last thing we want to do on the first day of summer is spend time inside in the kitchen! But just because you want to make the most of the sunshine doesn't mean you have to sacrifice flavor for summer sun by making lackluster salads or frozen meals. Instead, look to this list of summer dinner ideas to satisfy all your cravings.
If you're gearing up for a barbecue or planning a delightful picnic at the park, you've come to the right place. Ahead, you'll find an array of summer recipes designed to simplify your dinner routine, including quick 30-minute meals, marinated chicken dishes, flavorful pasta salads, and creative ways to incorporate seasonal summer veggies onto your dinner plate.
If easy grilling ideas are more your style, you can't have a roundup without plenty of burgers (beef burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, and more), plus creative ideas for hot dogs including one to make in your handy air fryer.
Looking to make the most of seasonal garden produce? Try the show-stopping tomato pie, stuffed zucchini, or a summer pasta made with fresh pesto. You can also keep cool and make a splash with fun pool party food ideas like shrimp skewers or zucchini mini pizzas.
Or skip the grill and stove completely and make a refreshing summer salad featuring creamy burrata and marinated tomatoes instead. Of course, you'll want to round out any of these meals with some frozen desserts and a batch of refreshing summer cocktails to really beat the heat.
JUST SO YOU KNOW...I do try these recipes myself. Well, not ALL of them but so far I have done the following recipes: #5,#20,#25, #28, #31, #40, #52, #60, #63, #64, #71 and #72
(It was all food my fussy husband would eat.)
GET YOUR RECIPES NOW WHILE THEY'RE FRESH!!!
PLEASE NOTE: I love swordfish but the news had me worried...
So I checked and NO, swordfish are not endangered — anymore. As of 2021, the IUCN Red List classified the global and Mediterranean swordfish, aka the Xiphias gladius, as Near Threatened. Mar 6, 2023
So, near threatened still bothers me. So we don't eat it right now,
until their numbers can regrow. Just thought you'ld like to know.
So I checked and NO, swordfish are not endangered — anymore. As of 2021, the IUCN Red List classified the global and Mediterranean swordfish, aka the Xiphias gladius, as Near Threatened. Mar 6, 2023
So, near threatened still bothers me. So we don't eat it right now,
until their numbers can regrow. Just thought you'ld like to know.
IN MEMORY OF: ALL THE SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE BURIED IN VETERANS CEMETERIES AROUND THE WORLD. R.I.P.
NO ONE WE KNOW PASSED TODAY,
JUST REMEMBER YOUR FRIENDS
BE THEY TWO-LEGGED OR FOUR!
JUST REMEMBER YOUR FRIENDS
BE THEY TWO-LEGGED OR FOUR!
Yes, the month of August is also known as the month of the lion. And yes, August 10th is World Lion Day, an annual event that aims to raise awareness about the challenges lions face in the wild and to celebrate their cultural significance. The day was established in 2013 by Derek and Beverly Joubert and Big Cat Rescue, the world's largest accredited lion sanctuary.
MILITARY
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WAR STORIES of the brave
The Story of 'Dyngo', a War Dog Brought Home From Combat
(for your dog-days of summer)
(for your dog-days of summer)
I Brought a Seasoned Veteran of the Conflict in Afghanistan Into my Home—And Then Things Got WILD!
By Rebecca Frankel: Photos by Susana Raab
It was late—an indistinguishable, bleary-eyed hour. The lamps in the living room glowed against the black spring night. In front of me was a large dog, snapping his jaws so hard that his teeth gave a loud clack with each bark. His eyes were locked on me, desperate for the toy I was holding. But he wasn’t playing—he was freaking out.
This was no ordinary dog.
Dyngo, a 10-year-old Belgian Malinois, had been trained to propel his 87-pound body weight toward insurgents, locking his jaws around them. He’d served three tours in Afghanistan where he’d weathered grenade blasts and firefights. In 2011, he’d performed bomb-sniffing heroics that earned one of his handlers a Bronze Star. This dog had saved thousands of lives.
And now this dog was in my apartment in Washington, D.C. Just 72 hours earlier, I had traveled across the country to retrieve Dyngo from Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, so he could live out his remaining years with me in civilian retirement.
My morning at the base had been a blur. It included a trip to the notary to sign a covenant-not-to-sue (the legal contract in which I accepted responsibility for this combat-ready dog for all eternity), a veterinarian visit for the sign-off on Dyngo’s air travel and tearful goodbyes with the kennel’s handlers. Then, suddenly, I had a dog.
That first night, Dyngo sat on my hotel bed in an expectant Sphinx posture, waiting for me. When I got under the covers, he stretched across the blanket, his weight heavy and comforting against my side. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt his body twitch and smiled: Dyngo is a dog who dreams.
But the next morning, the calm, relaxed dog became amped up and destructive. Just minutes after I sat down with my coffee on the hotel patio’s plump furniture, Dyngo began to pull at the seat cushions, wresting them to the ground, his large head thrashing in all directions. He obeyed my “Out!” command, but it wasn’t long before he was attacking the next piece of furniture.
Inside the hotel room, I gave him one of the toys the handlers had packed for us—a rubber chew toy shaped like a spiky Lincoln log. Thinking he was occupied, I went to shower. When I emerged from the bathroom, it was like stepping into the aftermath of a henhouse massacre. Feathers floated in the air like dust. Fresh rips ran through the white sheets. There in the middle of the bed was Dyngo, panting over a pile of massacred pillows.
Over the course of the morning, Dyngo’s rough play left me with a deep red graze alongside my left breast. On my thighs were scratches where his teeth had hit my legs, breaking the skin through my jeans.
Later, at the airport, with the help of Southwest employees, we swept through the airport security and boarded the plane. The pilot kicked off our six-hour flight by announcing Dyngo’s military status, inspiring applause from the whole cabin. Dyngo was allowed to sit at my feet in the roomier first row, but he soon had bouts of vomiting in between his attempts to shred the Harry Potter blanket I’d brought. I finally pushed it into the hands of a flight attendant, beseeching her to take it as far out of sight as possible—if necessary, to throw it out of the plane.
The trip ended late that night in my apartment, where we both collapsed from exhaustion—I on the couch and he on the floor. It would be our last bit of shared peace for many months.
The following evening, Dyngo’s energy turned into a dawning sense of insecurity. As I cautiously held my ground less than two feet from him, his bark morphed from a yelp to a shout. Then he gave a rumbling growl. That was when my trepidation gave way to something far more primal: fear.
* * *
By Rebecca Frankel: Photos by Susana Raab
It was late—an indistinguishable, bleary-eyed hour. The lamps in the living room glowed against the black spring night. In front of me was a large dog, snapping his jaws so hard that his teeth gave a loud clack with each bark. His eyes were locked on me, desperate for the toy I was holding. But he wasn’t playing—he was freaking out.
This was no ordinary dog.
Dyngo, a 10-year-old Belgian Malinois, had been trained to propel his 87-pound body weight toward insurgents, locking his jaws around them. He’d served three tours in Afghanistan where he’d weathered grenade blasts and firefights. In 2011, he’d performed bomb-sniffing heroics that earned one of his handlers a Bronze Star. This dog had saved thousands of lives.
And now this dog was in my apartment in Washington, D.C. Just 72 hours earlier, I had traveled across the country to retrieve Dyngo from Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, so he could live out his remaining years with me in civilian retirement.
My morning at the base had been a blur. It included a trip to the notary to sign a covenant-not-to-sue (the legal contract in which I accepted responsibility for this combat-ready dog for all eternity), a veterinarian visit for the sign-off on Dyngo’s air travel and tearful goodbyes with the kennel’s handlers. Then, suddenly, I had a dog.
That first night, Dyngo sat on my hotel bed in an expectant Sphinx posture, waiting for me. When I got under the covers, he stretched across the blanket, his weight heavy and comforting against my side. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt his body twitch and smiled: Dyngo is a dog who dreams.
But the next morning, the calm, relaxed dog became amped up and destructive. Just minutes after I sat down with my coffee on the hotel patio’s plump furniture, Dyngo began to pull at the seat cushions, wresting them to the ground, his large head thrashing in all directions. He obeyed my “Out!” command, but it wasn’t long before he was attacking the next piece of furniture.
Inside the hotel room, I gave him one of the toys the handlers had packed for us—a rubber chew toy shaped like a spiky Lincoln log. Thinking he was occupied, I went to shower. When I emerged from the bathroom, it was like stepping into the aftermath of a henhouse massacre. Feathers floated in the air like dust. Fresh rips ran through the white sheets. There in the middle of the bed was Dyngo, panting over a pile of massacred pillows.
Over the course of the morning, Dyngo’s rough play left me with a deep red graze alongside my left breast. On my thighs were scratches where his teeth had hit my legs, breaking the skin through my jeans.
Later, at the airport, with the help of Southwest employees, we swept through the airport security and boarded the plane. The pilot kicked off our six-hour flight by announcing Dyngo’s military status, inspiring applause from the whole cabin. Dyngo was allowed to sit at my feet in the roomier first row, but he soon had bouts of vomiting in between his attempts to shred the Harry Potter blanket I’d brought. I finally pushed it into the hands of a flight attendant, beseeching her to take it as far out of sight as possible—if necessary, to throw it out of the plane.
The trip ended late that night in my apartment, where we both collapsed from exhaustion—I on the couch and he on the floor. It would be our last bit of shared peace for many months.
The following evening, Dyngo’s energy turned into a dawning sense of insecurity. As I cautiously held my ground less than two feet from him, his bark morphed from a yelp to a shout. Then he gave a rumbling growl. That was when my trepidation gave way to something far more primal: fear.
* * *
Clockwise from far left: Then-Staff Sgt. Justin Kitts, with Dyngo on foot patrol in Afghanistan in 2011; Dyngo poses for his first official portrait in 2009, with his first handler, Senior Airman Brent Olson; Kitts and other members of the 101st Airborne Division playfully “debrief” Dyngo with a patrol map in 2011; Dyngo rests comfortably on a grape wall in Kandahar Province in 2011. Courtesy of Master Sgt. Justin Kitts (3); Courtesy of Brent Olson
It was February 2011 when Staff Sgt. Justin Kitts boarded a helicopter with Dyngo. They were on their way to their next mission with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on a remote outpost in Afghanistan. Unlike other dogs, Dyngo didn’t shrink away from the beating wind kicked up by helicopter propellers. He bounded in alongside Kitts, hauling himself up onto the seat. As they rose over the white-dusted ridges, Dyngo pushed his nose closer to the window to take in the view. Kitts found a lot of tranquility during these rides together before a mission, just him and his dog, contemplative and still.
On the first day of March, the air was chilly, the ground damp from rain. Kitts brushed his teeth with bottled water. He fed Dyngo and outfitted him in his wide choke chain and black nylon tactical vest bearing the words “MWD Police K-9.”
The plan for the day was familiar. The platoon would make its way on foot to nearby villages, connecting with community elders to find out if Taliban operatives were moving through the area planting improvised explosive devices. The goal was to extend the safe boundary surrounding their outpost as far as possible.
Kitts and Dyngo assumed their patrol position—walking in front of the others to clear the road ahead. After six months of these scouting missions, Kitts trusted that Dyngo would keep him safe.
Kitts used the retractable leash to work Dyngo into a grape field. They were a little more than a mile outside the outpost when Kitts started to see telltale changes in Dyngo’s behavior—his ears perked up, his tail stiffened, his sniffing intensified. It wasn’t a full alert, but Kitts knew Dyngo well enough to know he’d picked up the odor of an IED. He called Dyngo back to him and signaled the platoon leader. “There’s something over there, or there’s not,” Kitts said...
“But my dog is showing me enough, we should not continue going that way.”
The platoon leader called in an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team. Given the inaccessible location, the team’s arrival would take some time. The other soldiers took cover where they were—along a small dirt path between two high walls in what was almost like an alleyway—while Kitts walked Dyngo to the other end of the path to clear a secure route out. Again, Kitts let Dyngo move ahead of him on the retractable leash. They’d barely gone 300 yards when Kitts saw Dyngo’s nose work faster, watching as his ears perked and his tail stopped.
He was on odor again.
If Dyngo’s nose was right, there were two bombs: one obstructing each path out of the grape field. Then the gunfire started. To Kitts’ ears it sounded like small-arms fire, AK-47s. He grabbed Dyngo and pulled him down to the ground, his back against the mud wall. They couldn’t jump back over the wall the way they came--
they were trapped.
The next thing Kitts heard was a whistling sound, high and fast, flying past them at close range. Then came the explosion just feet from where they were sitting, a deep thud that shook the ground. Kitts didn’t have time to indulge his own response because just next to him, Dyngo was whimpering and whining, his thick tail tucked between his legs. The rocket-propelled grenade explosion had registered to his canine ears much deeper and louder, the sensation painful. Dyngo flattened himself to the ground. Kitts, knowing he had to distract him, tore a nearby twig off a branch and pushed it toward Dyngo’s mouth. Handler and dog engaged in a manic tug of war until Dyngo’s ears relaxed and his tail raised back into its usual position.
The popping of bullets continued, so, knowing his dog was safe for the moment, Kitts dropped the branch and returned fire over the wall. He’d sent off some 30 rounds when a whir sounded overhead. The air support team laid down more fire and suppressed the enemy, bringing the fight to a standstill.
When the EOD unit arrived, it turned out that Dyngo’s nose had been spot on. There were IEDs buried in both places. The insurgents had planned to box the unit into the grape field and attack them there.
Altogether, during their nine months in Afghanistan, Kitts and Dyngo spent more than 1,000 hours executing 63 outside-the-wire missions, where they discovered more than 370 pounds of explosives. The military credited them with keeping more than 30,000 U.S., Afghan and coalition forces safe and awarded Kitts the Bronze Star.
* * *
The author with Dyngo in Washington, D.C. Several of his teeth are missing or ground down now. “Still, no toy I give him survives for long,” she says. Susana Raab
DYNGO pronounced 'Dingo'. I first heard about how Dyngo saved lives in the grape field before I ever laid eyes on him. In 2011, I began researching and writing a book titled War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love.
I visited kennels on military bases all over the country and had the opportunity to hold leashes through drills, even donning a padded suit to experience a dog attack. I tried to maintain some kind of journalistic distance from the dogs I met on these trips. Many of the dogs were aggressive or protective of their handlers. Some were uninterested in affection from anyone other than their handlers. But there were a handful of dogs I met along the way whose sweet and personable company I enjoyed.
I met Dyngo in May 2012, at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Though Kitts had recently stopped working as Dyngo’s handler, he’d arranged for them to compete together in the Department of Defense’s K-9 Trials open to handlers from all branches of service.
Dyngo went with me willingly when I held his leash and started greeting me with a steady thump of his tail. Back then, his ears stood straight and tall, matching the rich coffee color of his muzzle. Unusually broad for a Malinois, his large paws and giant head cut an intimidating build. Kitts commented that he was impressed with how much Dyngo, usually stoic around new people, seemed to like me. And when Dyngo laid his head in my lap... I felt the tug of love.
It wasn’t long afterward that Kitts asked me if I would ever consider taking Dyngo when the dog retired. He’d always hoped he could bring his former partner home, but his oldest daughter was allergic to dogs. But it would be another three years before the military was ready to officially retire Dyngo and I would have to wrestle with that question for real.
“Are you sure?” my father asked. “It’s a serious disruption, taking on a dog like this.” My father was the person who’d ingrained in me a love of animals, especially dogs. But now he was dubious. Adopting Dyngo would mean adopting new schedules, responsibilities and costs, including a move to a larger, more expensive dog-friendly apartment. The list of reasons to say no was inarguably long. The more I weighed the decision, the longer that list grew. Even so, that little feeling tugged harder. I weighed all the pros and cons and then disregarded the cons.
I found a new apartment. Everything was set. On May 9, 2016, I was on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona.
* * *
Dyngo’s medical records, dating back to 2007. The first entry calls him a “healthy dog procured from [a] European vendor.” Susana Raab
“You sound scared.”
Instinctively, I gripped the phone tighter. The voice on the other end belonged to Kitts; I’d called him from home as soon as I heard Dyngo growl.
Kitts was right. But I wasn’t just scared, I was really scared.
Kitts counseled me through that night, intuiting that what Dyngo needed to feel safe was a crate. My friend Claire, who has a tall-legged boxer, had a spare crate and came over to help me put together all its walls and latches. I covered the top and sides with a sheet to complete the enclosure. We’d barely put the door in place before Dyngo launched himself inside, his relief palpable and pitiable.
During the first week, I had one objective: to wear Dyngo out. I chose the most arduous walking routes—the mounting asphalt hills, the steepest leaf-laden trails. The pace was punishing. Other challenges presented themselves. Dyngo had arrived with scabs and open sores on his underbelly—just kennel sores, I was initially told.
But tests revealed a bacterial infection that required antibiotics and medicated shampoo baths. Since I could not lift Dyngo into the bathtub, four times a week I would shut us both into the small bathroom and do the best I could with a bucket and washcloth, leaving inches of water and dog hair on the floor.
So began the roughly nine months in which Dyngo transitioned into domesticity and I adjusted to life with a retired war dog. During the early months, Dyngo admirably maintained his military duties. As we made our way down the hall from my apartment to the front door of the building, he would drop his nose down to the seam of each door we passed and give it a swift but thorough sniff.
Dyngo was still hunting for bombs. Every time I clipped on his leash, he was ready to do his job even if, in his mind, I wasn’t ready to do mine. He’d turn his face up, expectant and chiding. And when I didn’t give a command, he would carry on, picking up my slack.
I tried to navigate him away from the line of cars parked along the leafy streets, where he tried to set his large black nose toward the curves of the tires. How could I convey to him that there were no bombs here? How could I make him understand that his nose was now entirely his own?
His drive for toys—instilled in him by the rewards he’d received during his training—sent him after every ball, stuffed animal or abandoned glove we passed. The distant echo of a basketball bouncing blocks away began to fill me with dread. Giving him toys at home only seemed to amplify his obsession. Finally, seeing no other solution, I emptied the house of toys, though it felt cruel to deprive him of the only thing in his new home he actually wanted.
Struggling for order, I set up a rigid Groundhog Day-like routine. Each day, we would wake at the same hour, eat meals at the same hour, travel the same walking paths and sit in the same spot on the floor together after every meal.
I don’t remember when I started to sing to him, but under the street lamps on our late-night walks, I began a quiet serenade of verses from Simon & Garfunkel or Peter, Paul & Mary. I have no idea if anyone else ever heard me. In my mind, there was only this dog and my need to calm him.
One night that summer, with the D.C. heat at its most oppressive, I called my father. I told him things weren’t getting better. He could have reminded me of his early warnings, but instead he just sighed. “Give it time,” he said. “You’ll end up loving each other, you’ll see.” As Dyngo pulled away from me, straining against my hold on the leash, I found that hard to believe.
My new apartment hardly felt like home. Dyngo didn’t feel like my dog. We weren’t having adventures—no morning romps at the dog park, no Sunday afternoons on a blanket, no outside coffees with friends and their dogs. I didn’t feel like a rescuer. I felt like a captor.
Sometimes, when Dyngo stared at me from behind the green bars of his borrowed crate, I wondered if he was thinking back to his days of leaping out of helicopters or nestling into the sides of soldiers against the chilly Afghan nights.
I began to consider the possibility that to this dog, I was mind-numbingly boring. Did he miss the sound of gunfire? Did he crave the adrenaline rush of hopping over walls and the struggle of human limbs between his teeth? What if, in my attempt to offer him a life of love and relaxation, I had stolen his identity, his sense of purpose and, ultimately, his happiness?
* * *
A portrait of Dyngo.
Then there was Dyngo’s nearly uncontrollable drive for toys—or anything resembling a toy. Among the former handlers who’d worked with Dyngo was Staff Sgt. Jessie Keller, the kennel master at Luke Air Force Base who had arranged the adoption.
Keller offered me a few tips and even offered help with trying an electronic collar (a somewhat controversial training tool that requires experience and care to administer). Her suggestions were thoughtful, but what I was really looking for was a silver-bullet solution.
My desperation grew when Dyngo began to twist himself around like a pretzel to clamp down on the fur and flesh above his hind leg, gripping himself in rhythmic bites (a compulsion known as flank sucking). But something changed when Keller sent me a text message—“If u don’t feel u can keep him please let me know and I will take him back.” In some ways, this was the thing I most wanted to hear. But a resolve took hold:
I was not going to give up this dog.
Dogs have been sent to war for a variety of reasons. During World War I, dogs belonging to Allied forces were trained to deliver messages, navigating the trenches and braving bullets, bombs and gas exposure. Back at war a generation later, they recognized incoming shellfire before human ears could hear it. In Vietnam, they found safe passages through the jungles, alerting their handlers to snipers and booby traps. In Iraq and Afghanistan, their extraordinary sense of smell was able to outpace every technological advance made in the detection of IEDs.
Altogether, the United States has deployed thousands of dogs to combat zones and, depending on the war, their tours have lasted months to years. When it’s time for war dogs to retire, the law specifies that they should ideally be released into the care of their former handlers. Law enforcement agencies are listed as a reasonable second option—and as a third, “other persons capable of humanely caring for these dogs.”
According to Douglas Miller, the former manager of the DOD Military Working Dog program, adoptions are in higher demand than they were a decade ago. “When I first took this job in 2009, there were about 150 people maybe on the list,” he says. “That list has now grown to about 1,200 or more people.” But not every civilian anticipates the adjustments the dogs will have to make.
“If you ask a family that’s never dealt with a military dog before if they wanted to adopt one, I bet they’d be all about it,” former Marine handler Matt Hatala told me. “But ask them if they want a random veteran who’s been to Afghanistan three times, sleeping on the couch, they might be a little unnerved. It’s no different. That dog’s been through situations you’re not going to be able to understand and might not be able to handle.”
Hatala acknowledges that things weren’t always easy after he brought home Chaney, his former canine partner. The black lab was still ready to work, but there wasn’t any work to do. Chaney developed a fear of thunderstorms—which was strange, Hatala says, because he had never before been scared of thunder, or even of gunfire or bombs.
Dogs get to a point where they’re living for their jobs, Hatala says, just like human military service members do. “That has been their identity—that is it—for years and years. And when you get out, you kinda go, ‘What the heck do I do now?’ And you can never really find that replacement.”
According to Sean Lulofs, who ran the Air Force’s military working dog program from 2009 to 2012, says it took him nearly 15 years to come to terms with his decision not to adopt his own dog, Aaslan. The two had served together in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, where the fighting was raw and bloody. “You become so dependent on that dog,” Lulofs explains. Other than a couple of big firefights and some men who were killed, Lulofs says he’s forgetting Iraq. “But I remember my dog. I remember my dog almost every single day.”
When I told Lulofs about my challenges with Dyngo, he asked me as many questions as I’d asked him. One question, in particular, gave me pause: “Did you think that you were deserving of this dog?” This was a framing I hadn’t considered before. I’d worried I wasn’t giving Dyngo the home best suited for him, but was I deserving of him? Kitts had wanted me to take Dyngo because he knew I loved him, but what if that love wasn’t enough?
Then Lulofs said something that touched the core of that fear: “Don’t ever think your relationship is not as significant just
because you didn’t go to war with him.”
* * *
Keller offered me a few tips and even offered help with trying an electronic collar (a somewhat controversial training tool that requires experience and care to administer). Her suggestions were thoughtful, but what I was really looking for was a silver-bullet solution.
My desperation grew when Dyngo began to twist himself around like a pretzel to clamp down on the fur and flesh above his hind leg, gripping himself in rhythmic bites (a compulsion known as flank sucking). But something changed when Keller sent me a text message—“If u don’t feel u can keep him please let me know and I will take him back.” In some ways, this was the thing I most wanted to hear. But a resolve took hold:
I was not going to give up this dog.
Dogs have been sent to war for a variety of reasons. During World War I, dogs belonging to Allied forces were trained to deliver messages, navigating the trenches and braving bullets, bombs and gas exposure. Back at war a generation later, they recognized incoming shellfire before human ears could hear it. In Vietnam, they found safe passages through the jungles, alerting their handlers to snipers and booby traps. In Iraq and Afghanistan, their extraordinary sense of smell was able to outpace every technological advance made in the detection of IEDs.
Altogether, the United States has deployed thousands of dogs to combat zones and, depending on the war, their tours have lasted months to years. When it’s time for war dogs to retire, the law specifies that they should ideally be released into the care of their former handlers. Law enforcement agencies are listed as a reasonable second option—and as a third, “other persons capable of humanely caring for these dogs.”
According to Douglas Miller, the former manager of the DOD Military Working Dog program, adoptions are in higher demand than they were a decade ago. “When I first took this job in 2009, there were about 150 people maybe on the list,” he says. “That list has now grown to about 1,200 or more people.” But not every civilian anticipates the adjustments the dogs will have to make.
“If you ask a family that’s never dealt with a military dog before if they wanted to adopt one, I bet they’d be all about it,” former Marine handler Matt Hatala told me. “But ask them if they want a random veteran who’s been to Afghanistan three times, sleeping on the couch, they might be a little unnerved. It’s no different. That dog’s been through situations you’re not going to be able to understand and might not be able to handle.”
Hatala acknowledges that things weren’t always easy after he brought home Chaney, his former canine partner. The black lab was still ready to work, but there wasn’t any work to do. Chaney developed a fear of thunderstorms—which was strange, Hatala says, because he had never before been scared of thunder, or even of gunfire or bombs.
Dogs get to a point where they’re living for their jobs, Hatala says, just like human military service members do. “That has been their identity—that is it—for years and years. And when you get out, you kinda go, ‘What the heck do I do now?’ And you can never really find that replacement.”
According to Sean Lulofs, who ran the Air Force’s military working dog program from 2009 to 2012, says it took him nearly 15 years to come to terms with his decision not to adopt his own dog, Aaslan. The two had served together in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, where the fighting was raw and bloody. “You become so dependent on that dog,” Lulofs explains. Other than a couple of big firefights and some men who were killed, Lulofs says he’s forgetting Iraq. “But I remember my dog. I remember my dog almost every single day.”
When I told Lulofs about my challenges with Dyngo, he asked me as many questions as I’d asked him. One question, in particular, gave me pause: “Did you think that you were deserving of this dog?” This was a framing I hadn’t considered before. I’d worried I wasn’t giving Dyngo the home best suited for him, but was I deserving of him? Kitts had wanted me to take Dyngo because he knew I loved him, but what if that love wasn’t enough?
Then Lulofs said something that touched the core of that fear: “Don’t ever think your relationship is not as significant just
because you didn’t go to war with him.”
* * *
DYNGO AT REST Susana Raab
The entrails are strewn everywhere. The remains of his industrial-sized rope toy lie tangled across his front legs. He sits in the midst of it all, panting, grinning, Dyngo the Destroyer. His world now includes toys again. He has learned how to play, maybe for the first time, without anxiety.
It’s now been more than two years since I brought Dyngo home. The borrowed crate was dismantled last year. A big fancy dog bed has become his daytime nap station. His flank-sucking has all but disappeared. All the rugs lie in place, all the couch cushions and throw pillows sit idle and unthreatened.
We are rarely more than a few feet apart—he follows me around, my lumbering guardian. He is now truly my dog. The force of that love hits me in all kinds of moments—at the sight of his sleeping face, or when he drops his giant head in my lap, closing his eyes and sighing his happiest grunting sigh. Or during the chilling anticipation at the vet when he needed a potentially cancerous cyst biopsied. (It was benign.)
I can take Dyngo out without reservations now. He is gentle with dogs who are smaller or frailer than he is. Much to the shock of his former handlers, he has even befriended a feisty black cat called Sven. We sometimes walk with an elderly neighbor from her car to the building, helping her with her groceries. She holds Dyngo’s face in her hands and coos to him, Mi amor, as she covers his hefty brow with kisses.
Dyngo’s dozen years of rough-and-tumble life are finally catching up with him. His stand-at-attention ears have fallen into a crumple. The marmalade brown of his muzzle is swept with swirls of white and gray that remind me of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. He is missing more than a few teeth and it’s not easy to tell if his limp is from arthritis or a degenerative disease that plagues older, purebred dogs like Dyngo.
Every once in a while, as I run my thumb along the velvety inside of his left ear, I’m surprised to see the faint blue of his tattoo: his ID, L606. I trace a finger over the ridge and he exhales a low grumble, but it’s one of deep contentment.
In early 2018, Dyngo and I drove up to my parents’ home in Connecticut. It was an unusual balmy day in February and we rode with the windows down, Dyngo’s head raised into the slanting sun. He adapted well to my childhood home—he made friends with the neighbors’ dogs, dragged branches across the muddy yard and took long evening walks with my father in the downy snow. It was the longest Dyngo had been away from D.C. since he’d arrived in May 2016.
When we pulled into our building’s circular driveway after two weeks on vacation, I looked on as he jumped down onto the concrete. His face changed as he reoriented himself to the surroundings, finding his footing along the uneven sidewalks and making a beeline toward his favorite tree spot. As we entered my apartment, he nosed his way inside, then pranced back and forth between his beds and bowls.
He danced toward me, his eyes filled to the brim with an expression that required no interpretation:
“We’re home! We’re home!”
* * *
THE MORE YOU KNOW In case LIKE ME, you were wondering what does the military code "grape field" mean? It means exactly what it says, a field of GRAPES! ...Interestingly, grapes ae a major source of income for the people of Afghanistan, but UNLIKE most other areas that grow grapes around the world, they do NOT trellis them there. NOPE, THEY GROW THEM ON THE GROUND!
It’s now been more than two years since I brought Dyngo home. The borrowed crate was dismantled last year. A big fancy dog bed has become his daytime nap station. His flank-sucking has all but disappeared. All the rugs lie in place, all the couch cushions and throw pillows sit idle and unthreatened.
We are rarely more than a few feet apart—he follows me around, my lumbering guardian. He is now truly my dog. The force of that love hits me in all kinds of moments—at the sight of his sleeping face, or when he drops his giant head in my lap, closing his eyes and sighing his happiest grunting sigh. Or during the chilling anticipation at the vet when he needed a potentially cancerous cyst biopsied. (It was benign.)
I can take Dyngo out without reservations now. He is gentle with dogs who are smaller or frailer than he is. Much to the shock of his former handlers, he has even befriended a feisty black cat called Sven. We sometimes walk with an elderly neighbor from her car to the building, helping her with her groceries. She holds Dyngo’s face in her hands and coos to him, Mi amor, as she covers his hefty brow with kisses.
Dyngo’s dozen years of rough-and-tumble life are finally catching up with him. His stand-at-attention ears have fallen into a crumple. The marmalade brown of his muzzle is swept with swirls of white and gray that remind me of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. He is missing more than a few teeth and it’s not easy to tell if his limp is from arthritis or a degenerative disease that plagues older, purebred dogs like Dyngo.
Every once in a while, as I run my thumb along the velvety inside of his left ear, I’m surprised to see the faint blue of his tattoo: his ID, L606. I trace a finger over the ridge and he exhales a low grumble, but it’s one of deep contentment.
In early 2018, Dyngo and I drove up to my parents’ home in Connecticut. It was an unusual balmy day in February and we rode with the windows down, Dyngo’s head raised into the slanting sun. He adapted well to my childhood home—he made friends with the neighbors’ dogs, dragged branches across the muddy yard and took long evening walks with my father in the downy snow. It was the longest Dyngo had been away from D.C. since he’d arrived in May 2016.
When we pulled into our building’s circular driveway after two weeks on vacation, I looked on as he jumped down onto the concrete. His face changed as he reoriented himself to the surroundings, finding his footing along the uneven sidewalks and making a beeline toward his favorite tree spot. As we entered my apartment, he nosed his way inside, then pranced back and forth between his beds and bowls.
He danced toward me, his eyes filled to the brim with an expression that required no interpretation:
“We’re home! We’re home!”
* * *
THE MORE YOU KNOW In case LIKE ME, you were wondering what does the military code "grape field" mean? It means exactly what it says, a field of GRAPES! ...Interestingly, grapes ae a major source of income for the people of Afghanistan, but UNLIKE most other areas that grow grapes around the world, they do NOT trellis them there. NOPE, THEY GROW THEM ON THE GROUND!
APOLOGIES FOR NO TRANSLATION- IT WOULDNT WORK.
599 views • Jun 21, 2023 • #kandahar #afghanistan
2023 Grapes Farming in Afghanistan
599 views • Jun 21, 2023 • #kandahar #afghanistan
2023 Grapes Farming in Afghanistan
WAR STORIES ACROSS THE YEARS
THE short STORIES OF 5 FAMOUS MILITARY DOGS
Ark Crew • Nov 06, 2022
Ark Crew • Nov 06, 2022
1. SERGEANT STUBBY
Sergeant Stubby is perhaps the most famous military dog in American history. He served in World War I and is credited with saving the lives of many soldiers. Stubby was a stray dog who was found by American soldiers on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut. He quickly became a beloved member of the 102nd Infantry Regiment and was even given his own rank!
During his time in service, Stubby saved his fellow soldiers from gas attacks, found and comforted wounded soldiers, and even caught a German spy by the seat of his pants!
After the war, Stubby returned home to the United States where he continued to make public appearances and meet with dignitaries. He even met three Presidents! When he passed away in 1926, he was given a full military funeral complete with honors.
Sergeant Stubby is perhaps the most famous military dog in American history. He served in World War I and is credited with saving the lives of many soldiers. Stubby was a stray dog who was found by American soldiers on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut. He quickly became a beloved member of the 102nd Infantry Regiment and was even given his own rank!
During his time in service, Stubby saved his fellow soldiers from gas attacks, found and comforted wounded soldiers, and even caught a German spy by the seat of his pants!
After the war, Stubby returned home to the United States where he continued to make public appearances and meet with dignitaries. He even met three Presidents! When he passed away in 1926, he was given a full military funeral complete with honors.
2. CHIPS
Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Husky mix who served in World War II. He was originally rejected from service because he allowed himself to be captured by the enemy during a training exercise. However, his owner pleaded for him to be given another chance and Chips went on to serve with distinction in Italy, France, and Germany.
During his time in service, Chips saved his platoon from an ambush and took out several enemy soldiers. For his bravery, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart—making him one of only ten dogs to receive such honors. After the war, Chips returned home to the United States where he lived out his days as a beloved family pet.
Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Husky mix who served in World War II. He was originally rejected from service because he allowed himself to be captured by the enemy during a training exercise. However, his owner pleaded for him to be given another chance and Chips went on to serve with distinction in Italy, France, and Germany.
During his time in service, Chips saved his platoon from an ambush and took out several enemy soldiers. For his bravery, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart—making him one of only ten dogs to receive such honors. After the war, Chips returned home to the United States where he lived out his days as a beloved family pet.
3. SINBAD
Sinbad was a Newfoundland who served as a ship's mascot aboard the USS George Washington during World War II. He is credited with saving many sailors from drowning and even discovered a Japanese spy hiding on board the ship!
Sinbad retired from service in 1948 and lived out his days at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland where he was much loved by students and staff alike.
Sinbad was a Newfoundland who served as a ship's mascot aboard the USS George Washington during World War II. He is credited with saving many sailors from drowning and even discovered a Japanese spy hiding on board the ship!
Sinbad retired from service in 1948 and lived out his days at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland where he was much loved by students and staff alike.
4. LUCCA
Lucca was a German Shepherd who served as an explosive detection dog in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. During her time in service, Lucca found dozens of roadside bombs and protected her fellow soldiers from countless attacks. In 2012, Lucca lost her left leg after stepping on an IED but she recovered quickly and returned to active duty just weeks later! She eventually retired from service in 2016 but continues to work as a therapy dog helping veterans cope with PTSD.
Lucca was a German Shepherd who served as an explosive detection dog in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. During her time in service, Lucca found dozens of roadside bombs and protected her fellow soldiers from countless attacks. In 2012, Lucca lost her left leg after stepping on an IED but she recovered quickly and returned to active duty just weeks later! She eventually retired from service in 2016 but continues to work as a therapy dog helping veterans cope with PTSD.
5. CAIRO
Cairo is a Belgian Malinois who served as part of Navy SEAL Team Six during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. Cairo accompanied SEAL Team Six on their helicopter ride into Pakistan and helped protect them from enemy fire once they arrived at bin Laden's compound. After completing this historic mission, Cairo retired from active duty but remains working as a government contractor today.
These five dogs are just some of the many courageous canines who have served alongside American troops throughout history. They have risked their lives to save their human companions and have become famous for their heroic deeds.
The next time you see a military dog working hard to keep our country safe, be sure to give them a pat on the head (But please, PLEASE, please ask first...)—they've earned it!
Cairo is a Belgian Malinois who served as part of Navy SEAL Team Six during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. Cairo accompanied SEAL Team Six on their helicopter ride into Pakistan and helped protect them from enemy fire once they arrived at bin Laden's compound. After completing this historic mission, Cairo retired from active duty but remains working as a government contractor today.
These five dogs are just some of the many courageous canines who have served alongside American troops throughout history. They have risked their lives to save their human companions and have become famous for their heroic deeds.
The next time you see a military dog working hard to keep our country safe, be sure to give them a pat on the head (But please, PLEASE, please ask first...)—they've earned it!
MONTH BY MONTH:MONTH: AUGUST
The Purple Heart was created on August 7, 1782. August also includes several monthly observances, such as American Artist Appreciation Month, Back-to-School Month, and National Eye Exam Month. |
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WHAT DAYS ARE YOUR FAVORITES?
THE BOOK NOOK:
HISTORICAL, GENEALOGICAL & RESEARCH BOOKS
WAR DOGS by Rebecca Frankel
*A New York Times bestseller*
Under the cover of night, deep in the desert of Afghanistan, a US Army handler led a Special Forces patrol with his military working dog. Without warning an insurgent popped up, his weapon raised. At the handler's command, the dog charged their attacker. There was the flash of steel, the blur of fur, and the sound of a single shot; and the handler watched his dog take a bullet. During the weeks it would take the dog to heal, the handler never left its side. The dog had saved his life.
Loyal and courageous, dogs are truly man's best friend on the battlefield. While the soldiers may not always feel comfortable calling the bond they form love, the emotions involved are strong and complicated. In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities-from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions.
Under the cover of night, deep in the desert of Afghanistan, a US Army handler led a Special Forces patrol with his military working dog. Without warning an insurgent popped up, his weapon raised. At the handler's command, the dog charged their attacker. There was the flash of steel, the blur of fur, and the sound of a single shot; and the handler watched his dog take a bullet. During the weeks it would take the dog to heal, the handler never left its side. The dog had saved his life.
Loyal and courageous, dogs are truly man's best friend on the battlefield. While the soldiers may not always feel comfortable calling the bond they form love, the emotions involved are strong and complicated. In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities-from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions.
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