Pit Bulls: America's Dogs Help Wounded Warriors

For three months, Anthony Barnett of Game Dog Guardian and his therapy dogs helped our wounded warriors by volunteering at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. Anthony would faithfully bring his two registered therapy dogs, Liam and Leonidas, to comfort patients. The dogs were a hit. Staff even asked him to extend his visits and add other buildings on campus to their tour so more veterans could experience some canine companionship and compassion. All was going smoothly when Barnett was suddenly asked not to return by hospital administrative staff.

Why deprive our wounded warriors of therapy dogs? Canine profiling. Barnett's therapy dogs are American pit bull terriers, and when a media outlet called the administration for access to film a visit with the dogs, the administration panicked. Pit bulls at the hospital? Oh my.

However, pit bulls are dogs, not werewolves. Liam and Leonidas are obedience trained, have passed canine/handler team testing, and are both registered with the Delta Society. In fact one of the dogs, Leonidas — a victim of cruelty — is an amputee himself. Many of the veterans felt an especially strong connection to him. His ability to overcome his challenges helped our veterans rightly believe they could also heal.

Luckily, Barnett and many caring staff members, like tenacious terriers, didn't give up. They kept appealing the decision to the administration. They talked about how well received the dogs were, and how well-behaved. The decisionmakers had not seen these underdogs in action.

In the dogs' corner was the U. S. Dept. of Justice's ruling that cities could not discriminate against service dogs simply because of their breed. If judging a dog by its behavior, not breed, was good enough for the Dept. of Justice, you think it would be good enough for the V.A. Also noteworthy was the city of  Topeka's recent repeal of its breed discriminatory ordinance that stigmatized pit bull-type dogs.

Reason and research prevailed, and the Veterans Administration reconsidered their hasty decision. Anthony Barnett received a letter last week stating that he, Liam and Leonidas could once again roam the halls, comforting the wounded and lifting the spirits of our veterans. He was elated. I'm betting the veterans that the dogs have befriended are too.

In contrast to this happy ending is the tragic reality that housing units on military bases discriminate against certain breeds or mixes of dogs. These pets are removed from base housing and sometimes are turned into shelters and killed simply because of their appearance. Our military families deserve better. Pets are members of our families. Please sign the petition asking the military to stop discriminating against America's dogs.

Photo Credit: Leonidas at a Parade, Game Dog Guardian