(WFLA) – Sunday, March 13 marks the 74th anniversary of establishing the K9 Corps in the US Army or the National K9 Veterans day.
In 1942 the American Kennel Club helped create “Dogs for Defense,” a civilian group that trained dogs as sentries to help patrol US coastline. The US Army approved the experimental program and created the K9 Corps.
The K9 Corps initially trained 32 different breeds, by 1944 the number dropped to seven.
Military dogs are usually non-commissioned officers one rank higher than their handlers. According to CNN, some say this is meant to prevent handlers from mistreating their K9 partners.
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