10/05/2026
In March we shared a post asking if a retired Military Working Dog should be euthanized if they were a bite risk.
It is actually a loaded question. Long Post Ahead Warning.
And it is a very important question that people need to stop and and think things through, not just react emotionally to.
Did you know, that Military Working Dogs were not able to be adopted out AT ALL until President Clinton signed Robby's Law into affect in 2000? And that specifically was created for MWD's that were deemed 'suitable' for adoption.
In the beginning, because of liability issues, many Commands did not allow any retired MWD's with ANY kind of bite history to be adopted out, or even some of the stronger Patrol certified dogs. Protecting the public was at the forefront and no one wanted to risk any incidents that could jeopardize the new adoption program.
Even by 2007, when I became a Handler in the Navy, grumpy dogs were unlikely to get out even to their own handlers. Bite history was bite history, even when it was during training or not at the fault of the dog. (If anyone ever hears me say I closed my hand in the door, don't ask questions, just clean up the injury LOL)
So, when I arrived into San Diego in 2009, and MWD Ddamien D214came home that winter from his last deployment, it was pretty accepted that one of the most notoriously aggressive dogs in the Fleet at that time had NO chance of retiring and leaving the kennel.
Obviously, conversations were had, and because of my relationship with Ddamien, my respect for the MWD program, and for understanding what the risks were to not only our own liability, but to the risk of the adoption program as a whole if there any mistakes, Ddamien was able to walk out of the kennel, and jump into the back seat of my truck, free as a bird.
In 2012, 3 more Navy dogs escaped what should have been a guaranteed death sentence to stay with us, including my own MWD from Bahrain, MWD Kira J080. It was MWD Barry F055, and MWD Barri F388 that joined her. The door was being nudged open now, and a few dogs were making it out when they never would have before.
Now for the super REAL talk. The NOT so glamourous, NOT Hollywood-esque story people don't want to hear.
First, let's address the number one comment that comes to the general public mind when they hear an MWD is retiring and is looking for a home-
"Their Handlers should be adopting their dog!"
In the perfect world, that would be awesome. We are far far from that.
-Did you know that in an average career in the military, an MWD can be assigned a new handler almost every year, depending on the duration of the duty station? so some dogs could have as many as 8 or more handlers in their active duty lifetime. And it works in reverse, that a handler will be assigned a new MWD every time they transfer Commands, so in my almost 5 years as a handler, I was assigned 3 MWDs, not including excess dogs that I was responsible for until their assigned handler could be found. Not everyone wants to collect dogs like chips like I do.
-There are quite a few MWD's that do not do well with children or other dogs and a Handler should always prioritize the safety of their family first.
-Some Handlers still have years ahead of them active duty, and will be deploying, going to ships, or live in barracks. It is not physically possible for them to adopt their dog
-As much as we don't like to talk about it, there are Handlers out there that have no business adopting their dogs because they are POS people. It sucks they almost never get pulled from the program, but they just go through the motions and do enough to barely get by and want nothing to do with a living creature outside of work. Don't just assume ever Handler is fit to be an adopter.
The second most common response is that The military trained them to be aggressive, and its their fault they are that way.
-Won't lie, we have quite a few dogs that have severe behavior issues do to human error with handling skills, lack of patience, over correcting, and just because some dogs do not fit into the military cog machine. just like people, not every dog is cut out to fall into the needs of the military, just like people. But dogs cant quit, but some will tell them to go pound sand.
-BUT. Do not misunderstand this for thinking the military trains them to BE aggressive. We actually want a clear headed dog that does what is asked, and the training is very specific, not just randomly being a jerk and being handler protective. Bite work isn't just being aggressive all w***y nilly, there is a lot to it.
I had a german shepherd growing up, i should be able to adopt when it says prior handler only!
-When a kennel puts a restriction like 'Prior Handler Experience Only' it isnt to be mean, or limit a dogs chances of finding a good home. Until you have gone through a legit handlers course (Military or Police, ect) and have an understanding of the capabilities of a highly trained dog are, breed experience is not enough in these cases. Even if you had a dog with behavior issues, the liability falls with the command to make sure the potential adopter has at least a decent understanding of what the training, life style and behaviors that dog has already been exposed to.
SO. That leaves us with happens when MWD Grumpy Pants is finally ready to hang up his working collar for the last time, and his last Handler cant have him eating the new baby at home, or leaving with the new wife, who is not a handler at home to care for MWD Grumpy Pants when Handler Dad has to deploy next month?
Handlers can leave their contact information with the kennels or the Vet Office to be contacted when that MWD is starting the retirement process. It is up to the handler to keep that contact info up to date, and they should just randomly check in on the status of their dogs as time goes by. It is the Kennels responsibility to make sure Prior handlers have been reached out to before moving onto to other possible candidates, including other handlers, Vet staff, or other qualified people before the dog is made available to the public if the dog doesnt have special needs. So when you see me do a courtesy post for a Retiring MWD, please do not tell me to look for his handlers, because that is the Kennel Masters job before the dog is brought to my attention. Does it always happen? Most of the time yes, there are some exceptions, and it sucks, but we try to share and get the word out.
Let us take a look at MWD Grumpy Pants. He hates kids, hates dogs, and if you aren't his handler, he is probably going to hate you (at least initially) He probably is also hating the vet, and getting a muzzle on him will take either a can of cheese and the reflex's of goalie, and prayers to Batman that you don't miss and he rips it off.
Now What? Handler said no, other handlers said no, vet staff said no. Sending back to Lackland to wait for a possible home is not an option.
Rescue Options-there are very few of us who run actual sanctuaries that are set up to safely and humanely house and care for dogs like Grumpy Pants. Like 4 of us off the top of my head that I can think of. Once again, by the time I make a courtesy post, I have already spoken to the kennel at length about options, and they have already been referred to the other legit organizations. It is again on the kennel to do their part to reach out to see if the other organizations have space. Most of us are full and have a waiting list that could take months to have a space since it means one dog leaving for another space to be available. We do not work general breed rescues because of liability on the other rescues part, and to be honest, there are very few experienced people that would be eligible, and regular rescues are already hemorrhaging.
There are also behaviors that I know are out of my scope of ability and for the safety of myself and my husband, that i have turned down dogs, and I have even recommended that the MWD be euthanized because quality of life to manage the behavior would be non-existent.
Just because a dog is eating and breathing, and even maybe young does NOT mean it has a good quality of life. There are rare cases that the dog is a danger to themselves and others, and the fairest thing is to humanely euthanize, preferably with someone he does trust at his side. Not every dog can be saved as much as it hurts to say it. and just leaving them to rot in a kennel without interaction or ability to properly care for them is not a life.
To summarize this long winded post- Bite Risk has to be looked at in a broad picture. Quite a few pet dogs are actually at a significant bite risk. Every case should be looked at individually, because they are lives, and for our dogs, they have served to protect human lives and assets, not by choice, but for the love of their reward and relationship with their handler. But not every circumstance is ideal and environmental management or behavior modification can not always be achieved while keeping a good quality of life.
Please ASK questions before making assumptions. And it is very very important to not think emotionally, but realistically when it comes to risk, liability, skills and quality of life. At the end of the day, there are just not enough appropriate homes any more, no matter how bad we all want there to be.
Not one person can save them all, but working together, we can try to help many.
We need your support to continue:
🐾 http://www.bit.ly/SaveAHero
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