But you HAVE to pay........ "stomp, stomp"

"I have zero respect for my parents for what they've done and how they've handled the situation," stated Michael Ricci.





Michael Ricci and Maura McGarvey of Cherry Hill NJ probably never saw the lawsuit coming nor expected to lose to their own daughter.  They had their daughter Caitlyn, 21 while they were young and divorced in 1997 after about four years of marriage.  Caitlyn lived with her mother and both parents did their best to make sure that Caitlyn had the best they could provide as well as plenty of love.  Just as many teens though, Caitlyn became rebellious as she entered those high school years and her mother states that she tried to rein her in after she discovered that she was drinking.

Caitlyn evidently did not care for rules such as a curfew, household chores and summer classes so she left her mother's home in Feb 2013.  She did not just hit the streets to hang out, she moved in with her paternal grandparents and was attending Gloucester County College, a local public college.  Her parents state that she purchased a new car then and then filed suit for her parents to pay her college tuition.

In Oct 2013, a judge ordered her parents to pay her tuition as long as Caitlyn applied for all possible loans and scholarships.  Her parents refused to pay her tuition because they claim that she failed to do so.  They also tried to file for emancipation of Caitlyn but they were hit again with another lawsuit.....this time to pay for her tuition to Temple University.  She had evidently applied to transfer there and had been accepted, something her parents had not known prior to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is based on what seems to be a strange New Jersey legal precedent  known as "Newburgh" that states that divorced parents may be forced to contribute to their child's education, no matter what their age is.  It is usually used in cases where one parent is refusing to pay their share of a child's education costs but in this case......... I think it has been abused.  Caitlyn's grandparents have been footing the bill for her legal fight with her parents but they evidently don't think they could have used the money they are paying attorney Andrew Rochester.

Rochester has stated that Caitlyn's parents tossed her out of the home at age 18 and they had accused her of awful, awful things as well as questioning her morality.  He states that she is a very sweet girl who only wants to go to college while her parents are trying to state that she is nothing but a spoiled brat.  Her parents have stated that they have had no contact with Caitlyn, by her own choice, for the past two years and they have only seen her in the courtroom.

Just for a brief rundown of the facts then.......... Caitlyn got upset that she had to follow rules at home when she got close to 18 years old.  Her solution was to move out and move in with her grandparents who have not sought any monetary support from her parents for her care.  She won an earlier ruling that her parents would be on the hook for her college tuition at an inexpensive local college if she applied for financial aid.  her parents claimed that she did not do that so they refused to pay the college bill.  Caitlyn's solution was to be accepted by a much more expensive out of state college and sue her parents for that tuition bill.  In the meantime, her grandparents have been footing the bill for her care and her lawyer in the lawsuit.

The one thing I will concede is that parents of my generation have given their children something we never had when we grew up........ a sense of entitlement.  there were plenty of kids who wanted to go to college when I grew up but very few felt that it was our parent's responsibility to pay for it.  We managed through savings accounts they had squirreled away, took out loans, worked a job to pay expenses, joined the military or just put it off until we could afford it.  There was no "rule" that our parents were responsible for anything relating to us once we got to the age of 18 years old.  We had grandparents who stuck their noses in family business and felt that things weren't correct but they were the ones who would take on the financial burden of correcting it if they chose to.

They are hundreds of children who would love to have grown up in a home that gave you almost everything you wanted.  Hundreds who would love to go to college and can't find the funding for even a local community college.  Caitlyn could have done just as well to stay at the local college that she was at and if she felt that she needed to upgrade to a better college, that is on her tab.

I am sorry that people are being mean to you now but I have to agree in principle.......... you sued for something many people struggle to accomplish on their own.  You state that you have changed and you are grown up....... heck you are 21 years old.... grow up and take care of yourself.  That means go to college where ever you want but pay you own bill as well.  If you want to make mom and dad responsible for your upkeep, then admit that you are still a child, stop by and see them a bit and follow their rules.  As for Caitlyn's parents....... I am sorry that you lost for the moment in court.  I don't feel that you should be held hostage by a spoiled child who is not even been living under your roof for two years and someone else is caring for.  Step up grandmom and grandpop....... you think she should go to any college she chooses, you are welcome to pay as well.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-parents-pay-estranged-daughter-college-fees-court-article-1.2010796

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20141114_Tuition_lawsuit_pits_daughter_vs__Mom_and_Dad.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2833964/Divorced-parents-ordered-pay-16-000-21-year-old-estranged-daughter-s-college-tuition-despite-fact-kicked-house-two-years-ago.html

http://6abc.com/392148/


Update Dec 10 2014:

Caitlyn Ricci and her parents were back in court over her college tuition payments and they have come to a bit of an agreement.  Her parent's have agreed to pay $906 for her community college expenses but they are still refusing to pay towards her $16,000 bill now that she has transferred to Temple University.

Caitlyn evidently moved out of the family home over an underage drinking incident.......... an incident that actually was more than them catching her with a beer in hand.  Caitlyn was kicked out of the Disney College Program that her parents had paid for by being caught drinking underage.  They then insisted that she take a summer class as "punishment" for getting kicked out of the program.  She then decided that it was better to move in with her grandparents in Cherry Hill NJ rather than do chores around the house and observe a curfew her parents had imposed after she repeatedly got caught drinking.

Her track record at community college was nothing stellar either even though she claims that she got all A's and B's and ........ well a C as well.  It seems to me that she should have stayed at the community college where she was until she managed to make solid grades but then, why not transfer to an expensive college.  Her parent's claim that Caitlyn did not apply for all of the aid that she could have for her tuition but her grandfather stated that she did get some financial aid.

Maura McGarvey had gotten pregnant with Caitlyn while in college and worked full time while still attending classes.  Apparently Caitlyn does not feel that she should have to do anything like that though.  Both of Caitlyn's parents have remarried and have young children.  The court has stated that their combined household income is $272,000 but honestly, they have two household's now to support on that combined income and Caitlyn is not a part of either household by her own choice.

It was stated in court that Caitlyn is a young adult and capable of making her own decisions because it is her own life.  Well, if it is her life and she is an adult, try being one for once and carry your own weight.  Caitlyn's parents should not be saddled with a huge college bill for a child that does not want to live with them or even speak to them.  That was her choice so she should reap the benefits of that choice........find a way to pay your own way or play by your parents rules if you want them to pay.  Plenty of other college students work while going to school or have something called a college loan......... try doing it that way if you really are an adult Caitlyn.  Stomping your feet and throwing a legal temper tantrum like a two year old does nothing to prove that you are mature.






http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20141209_Judge__Parents_must_pay_for_daughter_s_NJ_college_tuition.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2868667/Parents-refuse-pay-spoilt-daughter-21-successfully-sues-16-000-college-tuition-left-home-two-years-ago.html

Are you just happy to see me......?

A man walked into the Treasure Coast Lawn Equipment store in Port St Lucie FL on Oct 28 2014 and asked the clerk for change for a dollar.  He walked out with a lot money than a handful of change.

Anthony Ballard, 28, had managed to stuff a chainsaw into his shorts and hide the rest of it with his shirt before he left the store.  He had evidently needed a five finger discount on the Stihl chainsaw that was valued at about $600 and calmly hid it before going by the register.

Ballard left the store and made his getaway on a stolen bicycle.  The employees noticed that he had stolen the chainsaw and one of them tracked him down and spotted him as he ditched the saw in a vacant lot not too far away.  The saw was recovered but police could not find Ballard when they searched the area.

About thirty minutes later, the employees at the store called to report that they could see Ballard hunting for the chainsaw in the vacant lot.  The police arrived and were able to arrest Ballard this time.  He stated that he had stolen the chainsaw but had a change of heart so he had returned to recover it and return it to the store.

Ballard was charged with grand theft and burglary charges and his bail was set at $28,750.  No mention was made as to whether Ballard had planned on returning the chainsaw while it was stuffed in his pants.  I guess that is one reason to wear baggy shorts.








http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2831663/Florida-man-successfully-shoplifts-chainsaw-sticking-power-tool-pants-riding-away-bicycle.html

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/port-st-lucie/anthony-brian-ballard-man-accused-of-stealing-chainsaw-by-hiding-it-under-his-shirt

http://offthebeat.blogs.tcpalm.com/2014/11/11/946/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-chain-saw-stuffed-into-florida-thiefs-pants/

Enough with the whining..........

Steven Hayes has stated that he has suffered "almost two years of emotional injury from having to choose between following God and starving or choosing sin to survive."





It seems as though Steven Hayes would like to have a piece of the "limelight" that his criminal partner Joshua Komisarjevski has had lately.  The two have both been sentenced to death in Connecticut for the horrendous murder of the Petit family and attempted murder of Dr William Petit.  In Sept 2014, lawyers for Komisarjevski filed motions to hold an evidentiary hearing, reverse his sentence and order a new trial for him.  They state that  they want to prove their theory that the police response was inadequate and that would have impacted the guilt-innocence part of his trial.

That theory had been attempted to be explained during his trial but was not found to apply and frankly....... both hayes and Komisarjevski were caught within a block of the Petit home, in the Petit family car.  Hayes did express remorse and claimed to not know why it had happened but Komisarjevski had none of those feelings when he recounted to police what had happened during the entire length of time it took to complete their reign of terror on the Petit family.  He did blame Hayes for the escalation of the crime but experts believe it was Komisarjevski that was the catalyst for the extreme escalation and murders.

His lawyers have tried to paint a picture of a poor, abused child who did not really have that in him but Hayes had brought out the bad within him.  Hayes had been the quiet one during trial and since his conviction, has kept his name out of the headlines for the most part.  He has not tried to blame a rotten childhood for what may have caused this last crime.  He has been fairly active in prison though......... he has filed numerous complaints against the prison system.  He has complained in the past about the temperature of his cell, harassment from the staff and the quality of his mental health care, all of which have been unsuccessful.

He was placed on suicide watch in 2013 for going on a fast during Yom Kippur and he had tried to obtain oysters which he is highly allergic to in order to commit suicide.  Now it seems that hayes had been on a hunger strike since August 2014 because the Department of Corrections in CT has denied his request to have certified kosher food.  He weighed 170 pounds in 2007 and at this time, he weighs about 120 pounds since he stopped eating all non certified kosher food.

Hayes states that he converted to Judaism in the 1990's when he met a rabbi during one of his earlier incarcerations.  His lawsuit states that he has been requesting a kosher diet since May 2013 and he has been forced to suffer for the past two years because of the non kosher food.  He has been offered food that is known as common fare meals that meet all the nutritional requirements and accommodate recognized religious dietary restrictions.

This is not enough to please Hayes who has stated that the food is not kosher because it comes in contact with contamination when prepared.  It is prepared with the same pots and pans as non kosher food is and this is preventing him from his strict adherence to his religious needs.  Evidently, he claims to have been converted to Judaism in the 1990's but it wasn't until 2013 that he decided that he needed to have a certified kosher diet.  It should be interesting where this latest complaint goes for Hayes, since it seems that neither him or Komisarjevski are all that interested in their actual crime and what that has forced people to suffer.

I would feel a bit more interest in their "well being" if they were honestly trying to atone for their crimes, not whining about their treatment after something so horrendous.




All related Petit posts on this blog:

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2014/06/beyond-evil.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/07/why.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/10/winding-path-to-evil.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/09/hindsight-second-guesses.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/08/story-still-unfolds.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/07/as-much-as-we-miss-them-god-weeps-with.html





http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/conn-death-row-inmate-hunger-strike-kosher-food-article-1.2009915

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2833471/Condemned-inmate-set-die-murder-mother-two-daughters-hunger-strike-food-isn-t-kosher.html

http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/steven-hayes-suing-connecticut-department-of-corrections-over-what-he-says-is-non-kosher-prison-food-1.9615186

Why work?

"She sits there with the sign.  He goes and parks the Mercedes.  And they put up the sign and not less than five minutes, here she is getting money from all these people," stated Michelle Smith.



The recent actions of a panhandler in California have evidently caused quite an uproar through social media lately.  I can understand the outrage that people are feeling but I don't understand how this could come as a shock to that many people.  Bogus panhandlers have been around for years and will probably still be around for years.

The woman who has caused all the buzz was spotted begging for change with a please help sign outside of a shopping center in Chula Vista CA.  She has evidently been there every weekend for the past couple of months and is sometimes joined by a man.  The woman who had questioned her sincerity, Michelle Smith, states that she really did not think much about the woman until she spotted her and the boy leave the corner and jump into a Mercedes Benz.  She could see them counting their money, laughing and had the young boy in the front seat with them, unsecured.

Smith followed the car and it turned into another shopping plaza where she and the boy again started to beg money.  The woman did yell at Smith when she realized that she was having her picture taken and came at her with a rock in hand.  Another witness called 911 to report the incident and the police arrived to investigate.  The police ran the car's plate and it came back to an apartment that cost about $2,500 month to rent.  The couple had left the scene before a local reporter could arrive.

Rebecca Smith had seen the earlier story about the family and called a local television station to report that she had seen the couple begging outside of Vons on Regents rd in University City CA.  A reporter went over there immediately to see if it was the same couple and question them.  The woman had a similar handbag and shoes, there was a little boy who looked very much like the one in the pictures and the woman was holding an infant now.

The reporter asked them if the pictures were of them and where the Mercedes was and they answered in Spanish.  When the reporter attempted to ask them more questions in Spanish, they switched to another language and walked away.  They got into a mini van this time that had dealer plates on it and sped away, again they did not restrain the children in safety seats.  The television station had pictures of the two women compared with facial recognition technology and the result was an almost 80% match.  It was stated that anything above a 50% match can be considered the same person.

They are not the first to be caught making a living from panhandling........ in January 2014, the Modesto CA police caught a couple who made their living doing just that.  Marian, 27 and Elena Hornea, 25 and their two children ages 5 and 7 had collected $366 and several gift cards for area restaurants in just two hours.  They told police that they had a log that kept track of the various cities they panhandled in, the best locations and times for doing so.  They even had receipts for funds that they had sent out of the US for $2,000 and $1,700 with the logbook.

Gary Thompson, 31, of Lexington KY had been found several times begging for a living.  Thompson had lost some of the use of his legs in a car accident when he was about 10 years old.  his mother won a settlement of $2.5 million for him but he states that the money is all gone.  He uses a wheelchair when he panhandles as well as faking a mental and speech disability and reportedly makes between $60,000 to $100,000 a year.

Thompson has been taking people to the cleaners in Kentucky for years and was not very ashamed of being caught faking his disabilities.  He was originally from Austin TX but had moved up to Kentucky some years later.  He also is not unable to actually hold a real job since he has a degree in speech pathology.  He uses what he learned while getting that degree to fake his disabilities for the unsuspecting public.  He had already been arrested twice in 2013 for panhandling but he vowed that he would not leave Lexington or give up his way of life.

People who panhandle or beg and have a handicap seem to garner more attention and donations.  Reporters in New York City NY spotted one such person while working on a story there.  The woman was hobbling up and down Manhattan's Fifth Ave begging for money and she was raking it in while they watched.  They became a bit suspicious of the woman so they decided to follow her home one evening.  Their cameras caught her climbing into a van and then emerging a bit later.  her begging clothes were gone and she was walking quite fine without the aid of the crutches she had used all day.  When the reporter approached her to question her, she fell right back into her familiar role and refused to answer....... and then proceeded to hobble away without her crutches.

In 2013, a reporter in Michigan went out to discover how many of the "professional" panhandlers were actually fakes.  She was fed up with the increase in begging since the state had made panhandling legal.  She found that the majority were fakes who were telling lies to gain donations from people.  She was particularly upset with one man named Rudy who had a sign he claimed he had found, that stated that he was a veteran.

Rudy was not ashamed that he was lying to get money from others and had stated that it was better than robbing people and doing drugs.  Another reporter decided to take matters into his own hands to try and stop Rudy so he stood next to him on the street corner with his own sign.  That sign stated that Rudy was a liar and oddly, Rudy tried to get the police to stop the other man until he realized he was going to lose.  The last time that he was seen was pedaling off into the sunset on a rather expensive bicycle, probably in search of better corners to stand on.

In New York City NY, Stephen Riley and Myra Walker founded UHO in 1985 and eight years later, it was granted tax exempt status.  The gimmick to this to tell the public that the money they donated to their jugs and jars was going to go to the homeless and feeding them.  What actually was taking place was for a payment of a flat rate of $15 to $25, you could rent a table and UHO jug for a four hour shift.  You would be given an apron, tablecloth, table and other UHO branded materials to use during your four hours.  Once the fee had been paid, you would then be free to collect donations and basically keep everything you made in that time.

Riley and Walker had about 50 tables to rent and with them working two or three shifts a day, seven days a week..........they were collecting more than $100,000 a year on the fees alone.  Workers who had rented the tables would state that the money that was donated was going to fund soup kitchens, detox centers and shelters.  the reality was that the money was going right into their pockets at the end of their shift.

Sadly, it may be just the few bad apples who cause many to stop donating anything.  There are many legitimate groups that need the donations and rather than fall for the beggar with the cardboard sign, you should do a bit of research and see that your hard earned money really does go to help the needy.  For the others that have their little sign asking for help........ swing by the burger joint and drop them off a few burgers.  if all they wanted was to rip you off for money, they will certainly show their true colors when you hand over the paper sack.




http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/panhandling-woman-confronted-speeding-benz-article-1.2007942

http://wgntv.com/2014/11/12/pregnant-panhandler-stirs-up-anger-after-driving-off-in-a-mercedes-benz/

http://www.kcra.com/news/selfproclaimed-professional-panhandlers-net-182-per-hour/23849924

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/beggar-scams-kentucky-town-article-1.1275097

http://nypost.com/2009/11/24/homeless-beggar-jars-a-sham-ag/

http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/5921-bogus-beggars-exposed

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2373179/Michigan-beggar-claimed-homeless-vet-outed-fake.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-panhandling-boy-driving-benz-article-1.2006895

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/trending/is-this-the-benz-beggar-minus-the-benz

Same old story...........

"It's a very lucrative way to make money.  It runs below the radar," stated US Secret Service Agent Steve Scarince.



There is nothing new about stealing gas....... just the particular methods change a bit over time.  The authorities are calling the newest scheme "pump and dump" after the quickness of the transactions.  The gas thief pulls into a regular gas station and purchases gas with a stolen credit card.

The vehicle they are driving looks like an ordinary vehicle but it has been fitted with all manner of extra sized containers inside.  It looks to the average person that they are just filling up the family van at the pump but they are really filling up the extra container that could hold several hundred gallons of gas or diesel fuel.  If the station is fairly busy, they attendant may not even notice that it is taking fifteen or twenty minutes to fill the huge hidden tank.

The thieves then turn around and sell the fuel at a very low cost to other gas stations or truck drivers.  It wouldn't matter too much as to what the price they get for their stolen gas because they didn't have to pay for it.  The person who had their credit card number stolen would be stuck trying to get the charge removed for a purchase they certainly did not make.

The gas thieves are generally part of a larger criminal ring that may be using the stolen credit card information for more than just stolen gas.  The police have spent months at a time chasing down leads and building a case against a ring of them before they can finally make an arrest.  Sometimes though, it just takes an alert clerk who notices that the sale is rather large for the vehicle they are driving and writes down the vehicle information.

In 2007, there was a rash of similar cases of gas theft but at that time, the method of theft included parking a large motor home or trailer over the gas tanks themselves.  They would then use a pump to pump the gas out of the station's tanks without them knowing it was stolen until the next time they checked the tank.  It seems that people will always find some way to steal a gallon, it is just the method that may change a bit.

Similar stories on this blog:

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/10/creative-profits.html

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2007/10/did-they-hold-seminar-on-it.html




http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/11/us/stealing-gas-investigation/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Remembering all the veterans..........

"I guarantee I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her.  And i know there are other service members who wouldn't be here either if it weren't for her," stated James Harrison.





For the first time, a float honoring service dogs will be in the Veteran's parade in New York City, NY today.  It has been sponsored by the American humane Society and Lois Pope and will honor six military dogs and their handlers. The six dogs that will be featured are: Ryky, Maxi, Fieldy, Cena, Cila and Mariah.

Ryky, 8, a Belgian Malinois, worked as a detection dog sniffing out IEDs for two years in Iraq and Afghanistan with her handler, now retired Army Staff Sgt James Harrison, 37.  She would sniff out everything from AK-47's to bomb materials and they were both awarded medals for their actions in June 2011.  A humvee traveling ahead of them was ripped apart by an IED and Harrison with Ryky cleared a path for medics to safely reach two wounded soldiers. He received the Bronze Star and Ryky was awarded the K-9 Medal for Exceptional Service.   Harrison applied to officially adopt Ryky and they were reunited in June and live in Mandeville LA.

Cila, 7, a Chocolate Lab, served almost five years alongside now retired Army Staff Sgt Jason Bos in the military police.  She was trained to sniff out weapons and explosives and served a year in Operation Enduring freedom.  Bos was separated from Cila when his tour of duty ended and it wasn't until April 2014 that they were reunited after her tour ended.  They live together in Grand Rapids MI

 Cena, 7, a Black Lab served with Cpl Jeff DeYoung in Marjah Afghanistan during Operation Moshtarak.  He had been trained to sniff out 300 types of explosives and 1,000 other scents and would work ahead of DeYoung to sniff out possible IEDs.  DeYoung left the service in 2010, married and had two children but when he heard that Cena was retiring after suffering a hip injury, he knew he had to have him.  They were reunited in June 2014, four years after they had last seen each other and he happily lives in Muskegon MI.

Fieldy, 7, a Black Lab, was trained to sniff out IEDs and served in Afghanistan with Cpl Nick Caseres.  When he left the military and returned home, Fieldy continued to work.  They were reunited after being separated for three years in Aug 2014 and both live in McAllen TX.

Maxi, 13, a Belgian Malinois, served multiple tour sniffing out explosives in Iraq and teamed with Cpl Jonathon Cavender for two years in Japan.  Maxi and he did their tour with the military police at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni Japan.  Cavender is currently stationed at Lackland Air force Base in San Antonio TX and he states that he knew that he was the one meant to give Maxi a home when she retired.  They were reunited in August 2014.

Mariah, 6, a Black Lab, was assigned to now retired Marine Sgt Oscar Pena for seven months while he was in Afghanistan.  She was trained to detect explosives and protect her fellow Marines.  After seven months, she was assigned to another handler in 2010 and when Pena returned home after retirement, he could not forget his "sister" Marine who had served with him.  In July 2014, Pena received word that she would be retired and they were reunited.  Mariah came home to El Paso TX where she had a home full of toys, new family members and plenty of love.



Dogs have probably always accompanied men to war and by WWI they had been integrated into the military.  It has been estimated that by 1916, there were approximately 10,000 Red Cross dogs working in the military, mostly with the French and German armies.  These dogs were trained to recognise the uniform of their country and were sent out to find wounded soldiers, often at night.  They then returned to the handler and led them back to where they had found the wounded man.  Some of the dogs were even trained to work as a team and pull a stretcher with a wounded soldier to safety but it was decided that it was ineffective to use them on the battlefield.

Most dogs at that time were unit mascots if they were not a Red Cross dog but in 1918, a bull terrier named Stubby was smuggled aboard a troop ship headed for France.  Stubby was unafraid of artillery shells and could hear the whine of them coming in long before humans could.  His alert to incoming shells gave the soldiers time to duck into the trenches and saved many lives.  He was a veteran of 17 battles, four offenses and chased down a German spy.  He was elevated from unit mascot to sargent and toured the US, received numerous honors and went on to become a movie star.  Even though he had shown the benefits of having a trained dog accompanying troops, the US military did nothing to train dogs for future use.  They were left holding an empty bag when the US entered WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Just one month after Pearl Harbor, in January 1942, the program "Dogs for Defense was created and was meant to provide trained dogs for the military to guard seaports and military bases.  In March 1942, the program was official and while they had only thought they would be training about 200 dogs, the number quickly expanded.  The public was asked to donate their pet dogs to help win the war and the program originally would accept about 32 different breeds.  This was narrowed down to 18 and then just five breeds by 1944.  Some of the breeds that did not make the cut for the final five breeds were still used within the US for sentry duty.

More than 10,400 dogs were trained through this program to be scouts, sentries, messengers or mine detectors.  Most of these dogs had been donated by families in the US and at the end of the war and after retraining, most were returned to their previous owners or to their war-time handlers.  The US military had finally understood how valuable these dogs and the jobs they did were, so they decided to continue the program.  They did not call upon donated dogs anymore but acquired and owned their own dogs for service.

More than 4,500 dogs served in Vietnam in various positions but scout dog was the most common.  They also were trained as sentries, mine and booby trap dogs and trackers which would track the enemy as they retreated.  Scout dogs would walk with their handler ahead of a patrol and were extremely vulnerable to ambush or hidden explosives and they were so effective that the Viet Cong had placed a bounty on them.  They always worked with the same handler even when their locations were changed.

Dog handlers speak of the bonds they formed with their dogs there and had wondered for years what ever happened to their faithful comrades.  Of the 5,000 dogs that went to Vietnam, only about 200 returned to the US.  The rest had either been euthanized when the military withdrew or they were handed over to the South Vietnamese troops.  The military had found out how valuable the dogs were to troop survival but in the end, they treated the dogs as if they were junk equipment to leave behind.  It has been estimated the the dogs prevented at least 10,000 casualties throughout the war but they were not "important" enough to bring home along with the troops.

In 2000, President Clinton signed into law legislation that created a military working dog adoption program.  The dark secret of Vietnam and the veterans who were never brought home had come to light and people did not want the dogs now serving overseas to face the same fate.  The dogs that are brought home still need to be funded but there are more dogs being reunited with the people they served with.

There are approximately 2,500 dogs currently working in various roles within the military today.  Many of them are working beside their handlers overseas and have been exposed to the same dangers our US soldiers are.  The dogs also face the same "bounty" as they did in Vietnam because of their value in detecting bomb materials, weapons and IEDs.  Most importantly, they are continuing to protect their handlers and the troops that serve with them.  At least now, they can have the opportunity to retire in the US, something that did not happen during Vietnam.

http://www.petmd.com/news/care-safety/nws_dg_world_warII_dogs_for_defense-11924

http://doglawreporter.blogspot.com/2011/07/red-cross-iron-cross-ambulance-dogs-in.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dogs-war-honored-nyc-veterans-day-parade-float-article-1.2005541

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/12/war.dogs/

http://nypost.com/2014/11/08/military-dogs-to-be-honored-in-veterans-day-parade/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/marine-reunited-military-dog-article-1.1821066

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_26128884/dog-reunites-marine-handler