There could not be a more apt description of a dog than “man’s best friend.” Everyone knows what it means. If My Dawnie is taking a walk and Doris, our Blue Heeler is along, I have absolutely no concern for her safety.
I became furious last week as I read that our State Department was sending dogs to foreign governments to sniff out bombs and they were allowing them to die from starvation and disease. The story I read in the Wall Street Journal stated that a whistleblower complaint triggered a halt to the program for Egypt and Jordan.
The fact that this story obviously triggered my emotions because dogs were being abused, shows a certain level of apathy on my part. Puppies and babies can bring us to our senses on things like this. There’s nothing wrong with it. Puppies and babies are back-door activists.
There are about 135 bomb-sniffing dogs provided to Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, and Afghanistan. The program has cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars. These countries have a history of cultural hatred and fear of dogs.
I dashed off emails to our “watchdog,” Senator Grassley and foreign war advocate, Senator Joni Ernst with no reply so far. But then I’ve been badgering them both for years seeking an explanation of how our government’s involvement in these countries is of any benefit to U.S. taxpayers.
As is often the case in stories like this, it doesn’t stop with dogs who, as the ASPCA described them, are “malnourished, tick-infested, overworked and filthy.” Are the dogs the only victims here? The cost is tiny if itemized per taxpayer, unless we follow the story to its logical end.
Are these countries where we send dogs to be ignored and tortured our allies? Ha! What a joke. If they won’t sniff out their own bombs and contribute as an ally should, we shouldn’t have anything to do with them. And if you think that is a heartless viewpoint, take a look at the battered veterans around us. What is heartless is to ignore our government’s illogical support of so-called allies who never contribute to the safety of the people of our homeland.
Let’s rein in big government now. Find homes for these dogs where they will be loved and cared for. But most of all, let’s begin respecting our servicemen and using their skills and ambition to protect our country instead of conducting useless adventures for the cronies of our elitist leadership.
Our babies and dogs can better serve us here than over there.
alternativebyfritz 