Twelve canine veterans were abandoned by a private contractor at Mount Hope Kennels. One kennel owner in Chester, Va. took care of the dogs, which has resulted in debts since he needs to spend much in order for the dogs to survive.
Some veterans, both canine and humans, were not given good care during their service and were given little support after their service. World War II vets had more trouble returning to their lives than we commonly think, reported The Dogster.
"When the K9 warriors were delivered to Mount Hope Kennels on February 10, 2014, they were originally the property of the Department of Defense and were adopted by a private contract company," Mission K9 Rescue cofounder Kristen Maurer said in a statement. "The plan for the dogs was to be repurposed for another mission, but that never happened."
Greg Meredith has spent thousands of dollars not just for food and water, but also for surgeries for injuries sustained by the dogs on the field. Aside from that, many of the dogs were on Prozac and other drugs to treat PTSD which was caused by combat experience. Most of the dogs have already been weaned off the medications.
"They've been abandoned. This is not the life that they deserve, nor is it how this country should take care of its soldiers," Meredith said, reported the NBC station WWBT.
The group's Mission K9 Rescue and The United States War Dogs Association helped Meredith with the dogs by returning some to their handlers. But Meredith still has debts used in taking care of the dogs which he didn't regret. For him, it's the simple responsibility to dogs who have served just like human soldiers.
"It's the least that we can do to take care of them, because they've taken very good care of us, to protect our freedoms," he said.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help out Meredith for his debts which he accumulated over a year-and-a-half. Dogs whose handlers cannot be found could be adopted from the Mount Hope K9 Warrior Rescue.
