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Furry Troops Get New Hospital

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The Associated Press

Published: October 23, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - A new $15 million veterinary hospital for four-legged military personnel opened this week at Lackland Air Force Base, offering a long overdue facility that gives advanced medical treatment for combat-wounded dogs.

About 2,500 dogs working for all military branches and the Transportation Safety Administration are trained at the base to find explosive devices, drugs and land mines.

Military dogs suffer from war wounds and routine health issues that need to be treated to ensure they can continue working.

Dogs injured in Iraq or Afghanistan get emergency medical treatment on the battlefield and are flown to Germany for care. If necessary, they'll fly on to San Antonio for more advanced treatment.

"We act as the Walter Reed of the veterinary world," said Army Col. Bob Vogelsang, hospital director, referring to the Washington military medical center that treats severely wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The dogs usually can return to work if they recover at the Military Working Dog Center, he said.

Before the center opened, veterinarians treated and rehabilitated dogs in a cramped building that opened in 1968, when the military trained dogs for work in Vietnam.

The hospital was already overloaded by Sept. 11, 2001, but since then, demand for military working dogs has jumped dramatically.

The hospital has operating rooms, digital radiography, CT scanning equipment, an intensive care unit and rehab rooms with an underwater treadmill and exercise balls, among other features.

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