Current:Home > reviewsA happy retirement: Marine K-9s reunite with first handlers-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
A happy retirement: Marine K-9s reunite with first handlers
lotradecoin investmenttools View Date:2024-12-26 02:41:58
In Okinawa, Japan, they conducted inspections for drugs, tracked missing persons and detected explosives, but medical issues forced an end to their storied military careers.
Thankfully Poker and Aida, both German shepherds, had Marine Corps handlers eager to reunite with them after their service, and a charity that helped to make it happen.
"I'm so happy to have him back, get to train him again, let him be a dog, let him live his life," said Poker's owner, Marine Corps Sgt. Isaac Weissend, who now trains military dog handlers at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
Poker was the first working dog he trained, Weissend told USA TODAY, and was by his side doing security sweeps with the U.S. Secret Service ahead of a visit by President Joe Biden to South Korea in 2022 – the same year he had to leave Poker behind when he was reassigned.
Aida, meanwhile, had been working alongside Dalton Stone, a Marine Corps sergeant at the time, and Weissend’s close friend in Okinawa, where they were stationed and met in 2019. Aida learned from Stone how to track and locate people. She traveled with him to the U.S. for advanced training.
"Tracking through the jungles and around bases through different obstacles never got old," Stone wrote in an email to USA TODAY. But he, too, had to leave his trusted companion behind in Japan in 2022, not knowing if he would see her again when he left the Marine Corps.
Both dogs retired from the Marines this year for medical reasons and the men knew they had to adopt them.
So it was a teary moment in Tyler, Texas, recently when both dogs reunited with their best-friend handlers. And it was first time American Humane facilitated a four-way reunion.
“It was an honor to help two best friends bring their other best friends home,” said Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane, which also pledged to pay veterinarian bills for Aida and Poker for the rest of their lives. “All four of these military heroes deserve our gratitude and support after serving our country.”
Weissend now looks forward to giving Poker a relaxed life at home. He still sniffs around the house but is learning to unwind and roam freely, to retire doggy-style.
"Absolutely 100% wouldn't change a thing," Weissend said. "I'm super happy I was able to get him."
Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @KrystalRNurse.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Oklahoma city approves $7M settlement for man wrongfully imprisoned for decades
- Missing Florida woman Shakeira Rucker found dead in estranged husband's storage unit
- US Navy plane overshoots runway and goes into a bay in Hawaii, military says
- Princess Kate to host 3rd annual holiday caroling special with guests Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight
- Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument
- 'Most sought-after Scotch whisky' sells for record $2.7M at London auction
- Federal appeals court deals blow to Voting Rights Act, ruling that private plaintiffs can’t sue
- Ohio state lawmaker accused of hostile behavior will be investigated by outside law firm
- Wally Amos, 88, of cookie fame, died at home in Hawaii. He lost Famous Amos but found other success
- Biden pardons turkeys Liberty and Bell in annual Thanksgiving ceremony
Ranking
- Get Designer Michael Kors Bags on Sale Including a $398 Purse for $59 & More Deals Starting at $49
- Companies are stealthily cutting benefits to afford higher wages. What employees should know
- CEO of Fortnite game maker casts Google as a ‘crooked’ bully in testimony during Android app trial
- One of the year's brightest meteor showers is underway: How to watch the Geminids
- Red Cross blood inventory plummets 25% in July, impacted by heat and record low donations
- Tom Schwartz's Winter House Romance With Katie Flood Takes a Hilariously Twisted Turn
- Experts say a wall that collapsed and killed 9 in the Dominican Republic capital was poorly built
- Tom Schwartz's Winter House Romance With Katie Flood Takes a Hilariously Twisted Turn
Recommendation
-
Usher Cancels Atlanta Concert Hours Before Show to Rest and Heal
-
NFL Week 11 winners, losers: Broncos race back to relevance with league-best win streak
-
New iPhone tips and tricks that allow your phone to make life a little easier
-
Closer than we have been to deal between Hamas and Israel on hostage release, White House official says
-
Infamous LA officer’s gun found in $1 million watch robbery case
-
Affordable housing and homelessness are top issues in Salt Lake City’s ranked-choice mayoral race
-
Takeaways on fine water, a growing trend for the privileged in a world that’s increasingly thirsty
-
Why Taylor Swift's Music Is Temporarily Banned From Philadelphia Radio Station