Page 1 - Desert Lightning News, Nellis-Creech AFB Edition, Sept. 29 2017
P. 1
vol. 1, no. 9 Serving Southern Nevada’s mililtary community, including Nellis, Creech and NTTR sept. 29, 2017
An Aerotech news And review publicAtion • www.Aerotechnews.com
Military working dogs get booties
by Airman 1st Class Adarius Petty Tech. Sgt. Anique, 799th Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Adarius Petty
Security Forces Squadron
Creech AFB, Nev. working dog handler. Jimy, a 799th Security Forces Squadron military working dog, gets dog booties placed on his paws
Sept. 1, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The 799th SFS dog handlers use these booties during
Summer temperatures above 100 The military working inclement weather conditions and harsh terrain to protect the dog’s paws.
degrees are not uncommon for Indian dogs at the 799th SFS Ken-
Springs, Nev., and winter temperatures nels are an integral part of snow if we need to,†said Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Adarius Petty
are often well below freezing. ensuring the security of Nicholas.
Creech AFB. The dogs and SSamuel, a 799th Security Forces Squadron military working dog,
These weather conditions are fre- their handlers are responsi- As part of their training, goes through search procedures on Sept. 1, 2017, at Creech Air
quent for Creech and can be danger- ble for enforcing the law and the handlers get the dogs Force Base, Nev. The dogs wear these booties for protection from
ous for our Airmen, especially for our keeping our Airmen safe. used to this gear by taking rough terrain and inclement weather conditions.
four-legged ones, the military working them through an obstacle
dogs. In order for them to ac- course and allowing them to
complish all of this, the practice wearing them both
“If you can’t touch your hand to the Air Force has provided the on and off duty.
ground and keep it there for more than 799th military working
three seconds because it’s so hot, it’s go- dogs with the equipment Military working canines
ing to be even worse for the dogs,†said they need to succeed. must accompany their han-
dlers on foot patrols, per-
Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Adarius Petty “They’re called boots,†form searches and ensure
said Senior Airman Nicho- the safety of everyone on
Toby, a 799th Security Forces military las, SFS working dog han- base. For these tasks, com-
working dog, goes through the courses dler. “They have the Vi- plete attention is a necessity.
to get familiar wearing the booties bram® soles just like our
Sept. 1, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. boots and they protect the The booties make that
Familiarizing the dogs with the booties is actual padding of the dogs’ level of concentration possi-
important , so that the they can focus on paw. So, in rough terrain or ble in almost any condition.
the mission at hand. if it’s hot outside, their pad- They protect a dog’s pads,
ding has protection.†paws and nails to allow for
full performance in what-
Though the use of the ever they are expected to do.
booties is at the handler’s
discretion, keeping their
paws protected from the
desert ground is vital to the
success of the mission. If the
dogs become more focused
on the pain caused by the
hot ground, it can deter
them from the true objec-
tive at hand.
The booties enable the
dogs to perform in a vari-
ety of environments where
weather conditions or rough
terrain would interfere with
their mission.
“We’ve used them to keep
their paws from burning on
the desert ground, we’ve
used them to protect their
nails from ripping off on
grated stairs and we could
even use them to keep their
paws from freezing in the
INSIDE: Commentary – 2; News – 3-8; Air Force News – 9-11; Health & Wellness – 15
