A Shaggy Dog Story

The shaggy dog in question is Rocky, a Belgian Malinois. OK, shaggy may be a bit of an overstatement, but the rest of this story is the truth. Rocky was in Afghanistan, employed by the US Army as a land mine detection dog. His job was to locate IED’s before a soldier found one with a boot and his longevity speaks to his ability.

Unfortunately, Rocky developed glaucoma and suffered a detached retina in one eye. As a result, the Army “retired” him from the force. But there was a rub: military working dogs are considered equipment and, as such, do not enjoy a free ride back to the states when their service is complete. As a matter of fact, the military has the option of putting dogs down that fall into this category.

CDH International is a world-wide, self-funded charity (CDHInternational.org). Among it’s many efforts is bringing dogs like Rocky back home. This is anything but an easy chore due to endless red tape, bureaucratic “not-my-job” clerks, and other obstacles. Finding airlift outside of military craft usually entails large sums of money for chartering and “handling charges” (others might refer to this as extortion, bribery, and so on).

In this particular case, CDH reached out to the Puppy Rescue Mission (ThePuppyRescueMission.org), another charitable effort to reunite soldiers with the many strays they had adopted while serving in the war zones. Chandi (from CDH) and Michelle (from PRM) collaborated in getting Rocky to Los Angeles last week.

In the meantime, they had posted his photo on Facebook in the hopes of finding him a “forever home”. This posting was seen by Jason, a retired Sheriff’s deputy in Northern California. Jason was a canine officer and paired with another Malinois also named Rocky. In quick succession, Jason was involved in two events involving an armed suspect. One had a knife and the other a handgun. Rocky was instrumental in minimizing the harm to his handler, but Jason was medically retired after the shooting.

Rocky, on the other hand was still available for duty. Normally, when a canine retires his handler is able to purchase the dog for a dollar. In this case, Jason would have had to pony up $3500 and having just lost his job could not spare the funds. Needless to say, Jason quickly responded to the post and offered to adopt the “new” Rocky. 

Last Tuesday I received a call from Michelle. I am a volunteer pilot for Pilots n Paws (PilotsnPaws.org) and she found my bio on their website. Since I am in Northern California, too, she thought that I might be able to help in getting Rocky from LA to NorCal. Having a Malinois myself, I was all too happy to assist, but didn’t have the availability to go all the way to LA to pick him up. Mike, another Pilots n Paws volunteer pilot, offered to pick Rocky up and deliver him to San Luis Obispo, on the central California coast.. In the meantime, Jason would drive to my airport and we would fly down to San Luis to make the exchange.

So last Friday that is exactly what happened. Jason and I were waiting on the ramp at the San Luis Obispo Jet Center when Mike, his daughter, and Rocky arrived. The meet and greet was one of those “goose-bump” moments. The “new” Rocky was almost a twin to Jason’s ex-partner and I thought for sure that Jason would begin to cry when they met.

The flight back was conducted with Jason and Rocky occupying the back seats. You see, Rocky, as most others of his breed, is what we call high energy. That means they can get into mischief in a New York minute and the last thing I needed to explain to my airplane partner was the chewed up back seats. All went well, though, and we landed without any interior damage.

As I write this, Rocky is settling into his new home with Jason and his family. The end? Maybe, if we include the happily-ever-after part, but that’s not today’s point. You see, I’ve often been critical of the time wasted on social networking, but now I’m not so sure.

My story brought six principals together. Five folks and one dog that knew nothing of the others until cyberspace united them for one common cause. And now those lives have been forever changed. And that is nothing to sneeze at.

I guess that since the beginning of time there were those that under-appreciated the true value of the latest and greatest invention of the day. So why be surprised that the social network is no different? While many idly text and tweet while conjuring up only the simplest, most menial thoughts, others see the possibility of unfettered communication and use it to advance noble causes that otherwise would fall by the wayside. Take the Arab Spring, for instance. Or Rocky.

I’ve received some comments as of late regarding a recent post in which I lamented how people have evolved little over the past 500 years, or so. Maybe I was too hard on mankind. Maybe there is hope for a world where wealth is invested in causes far beyond personal gain and political differences give way to a common interest in making our world a better place. Rocky and his many advocates sure made a believer out of me.

(And should you be as outraged as I in learning of the fate in store for retired canine forces abroad, let your representatives know about it.)

Mixed Nuts

How about a few independent topics with one common element: nuts!

While Syria is mired in, for all intents and purposes, a civil war, Russia and China continue to oppose any UN resolution for a cease fire. Are they nuts? Of course not. You see, they know that should their citizens decide to oppose the established government they’d be ready to open fire upon them, too. At least they’re honest, but if you think they’ll ever get behind such an idea you’re nuts.

Folks continue to moan about the high cost of air travel. Adjusted for inflation, it is about the only item that hasn’t kept pace. Bad management decisions resulted in over capacity which resulted in fare wars. And low fares were subsidized by employees through concessions or bankruptcy courts. That wasn’t enough, though, so now your ticket price includes a seat, period. Other “amenities” are offered, but as additional charges (nuts are still free). We know this as “a la carte pricing” and the airlines are raking in big bucks as a result. So much so that hotels are considering individual utility meters in each room. In that way, we’ll pay for our water and electricity on usage rather than having such “luxuries” bundled into the room rate. Nuts? Maybe, but don’t be surprised if it comes to pass.

You’re nuts if you think that the realism in today’s movies and video games does not allow the nuts within our society to dream up nightmare scenarios similar to the one recently played out in Aurora, Colorado. The connection may not be a direct link, but one does feed the other to be sure. And anyone who thinks that banning assault weapons somehow infringes on our Second Amendment rights is equally nuts. We don’t need them for hunting or household protection and we sure as hell don’t need them in the hands of other nuts looking to make a name for themselves.

And, on a related note, you’re nuts if you think that either political party will consider the limiting of assault weapons. They’re not nuts, necessarily, but they both know that some in the NRA are. And those nuts vote! So don’t count on any changes from our supposed leaders anytime soon.

If your city is financially strapped and reducing the numbers of cops, firemen, and other municipal service providers to save money you’re nuts if you think that will help. Who would want to move into an area with little or no police or fire protection? Conversely, everyone that can get out of town is doing so. And the city leaders that support such moves? You can bet your ass they don’t live in town or, if they do, are looking to move in the near future. Such plans to meet expenses result in nothing but the continued decay of the community and an ever deepening financial hole.

Oh, and if you think that airline pilots never take a 10 minute power nap during cruise, you’re really nuts!

Living in the Past

I’ve returned safely from a two week sojourn abroad and, after three restless nights, have finally readjusted to my local time zone. Most of the time away was spent on a Rhine River cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam. The Rhine is replete with castles and, while most of my fellow passengers delved into their historic significance, I found myself focusing on something altogether different. (What a surprise, huh?)

Back in those days of old a castle was, indeed, a fortress. Most contained a moat and were built on higher terrain with limited access to their front gates. These locations and their accouterments were not by accident, you know. It seemed that most folks were hated by most other folks and so, to protect what was theirs, they constructed these fortified “homesteads”. Turrets, battlements, and gun ports were erected to fend off would-be invaders.

Even then, I thought, everyone with wealth concentrated on keeping it from others. And when they weren’t doing that, they concentrated on how to gain more wealth from others. One would think that over the past five hundred years or more the human race would have evolved a bit. Apparently, it hasn’t.

The only thing that has significantly changed is the technology employed to keep our stuff safe from other ne’er-do-wells interested in acquiring it. Moats have gone the way of gated communities, privacy walls, and electronic security systems. The limited access  feature remains and still ends up at a gate of some kind (possibly with a sentry). And I’d venture to say that we are every bit as paranoid as our ancestors in devising ways to keep our riches safe while thinking of ways to get our hands on more. Guns and cannons are no longer required as they once were. Now we use computers and complicated investment schemes to enrich our coffers.

Yes, I generalize, but a glance at any daily newspaper proves my point. I cannot think of one facet of our society that has not betrayed the trust it once enjoyed: government, church, education, banking, and business to name just a few have an abundance of anecdotal evidence pointing to scandal and the attempt to cover-up or carry out plans to either maintain wealth or create even more surreptitiously.

If mankind has not gotten past the practices of medieval times, then what hope can we have for the problems facing us today? Any leader who wants to maintain control fully realizes that hope is the key ingredient in maintaining calm among the masses. Without it revolution is sure to occur. Today in this country the hope of advancement through working hard and being recognized appropriately has given ground to overnight success stories of lottery winners and reality TV celebrities. Do you think this is by accident? I don’t.

After all, it’s about the only dream most of us can lay claim to anymore. Many have no job at all and others are so terrified of losing one that they fall prey to the unreasonable demands of their bosses. Not much hope for that to improve anytime soon so we might as well dwell on how we’ll spend our lottery winnings. It’s something, anyway.

We look to our leaders to make things better by challenging the status quo. But that is the last thing they want to do because the status quo guarantees them of a continued flow of wealth and power. They’d be nuts to consider that or think with a grander vision than their own advancement. And there’s the problem: for over three years I have encouraged the thought of corporate conscience and the like and, until I saw the castles of the Rhine up close and personal, I thought it was a possibility.

No longer, though. And that saddens me for if we cannot have faith in those who lead there is no reason for them to do so. And so, instead, they continue to laud the good old USA as the last shining example of society on the world. “We’re number 1”, they chant as we chant along. Only, though, if we’re talking about defense spending or incarceration rates. We’re not number 1, folks, and haven’t been for a good while. But it makes us feel good in the absence of any substantive change in our lives, doesn’t it? Kind of like the citizens of ancient Rome in its last days of glory, perhaps.

“Where’s the ray of sunshine?” you might ask. After all, I usually find one straw to grasp. Not today, though. Nope, I’m left with a feeling of helplessness because I’ve held fast to the concept that the human race can rise up and do great things. Maybe we still can, but as wrapped up as we are in scandal and partisanship I think it will take either major upheaval outside of established institutions or some other external stimulus. We don’t have the power to change things and those that do don’t want to. Except, of course, in providing the perception that they want to. And that provides cold comfort as prospects for improvement grow dim.

So here I sit wondering why I continue to hold out hope for deliverance through established methods when I’m no longer dealing with the mindset of folks, but rather their DNA seemingly unchanged over the past few eons. We’ve all seen the tee shirt that says “SSDD” (Same shit, different day). I can now visualize one that says “SSDC”: Same shit, different century.