Adak

THE WAR HERO

TEXT: GEORGIA HARLEY

When we think of a German Shepherd, we often conjure the image of a police dog, but not many know that the German Shepherd was, in fact, bred for war. The dogs were first trained by German soldiers to send messages and carry ammunition. Today German Shepherds are used for even more military tasks, including bomb detection, search and rescue and even to keep soldiers' morale up.

German Shepherds are a favourite for military-type work due to their intelligence, focus, loyalty, and ability to keep calm under pressure.

ADAK

Adak was an American hero. He was not an official military dog but supported the military by being a 'contracted' war dog. Adak worked both in Iran and Afghanistan doing detection work. He also served as part of the security team for the US embassy when authorities and dignitaries travelled.

It is said that the whole team felt safer when Adak was around and at work.

HIS WORK

In 2008, there was a terrorist attack at a hotel located in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. As a result of this attack, multiple people were trapped inside the hotel with no way of getting out. A team of soldiers rescued 20 victims out of the hotel, and at the front of this team was Adak.

END OF CAREER

Working in war zones takes its toll, just as it does for humans. Over his years of service, Adak's handler, Dan Hughes, became his friend, and after their time of service on the front line was complete, Dan wanted to take his fellow soldier home with him. Even though at first Hughes' wife was a little apprehensive about having a big service dog in the house, Adak ended up climbing into her heart too. He was affectionate with the Hughes' children and became a well-adjusted family dog.

However, after just a year of living in the family, Dan realised that as happy as Adak was, he was missing his life of service. Due to his age, he wouldn't be able to serve any longer in the army, so Dan Hughes and his wife set up Dogs for Defense Incorporated to give Adak and dogs like him the chance to continue serving.

In his Dogs for Defense Incorporated role, Adak still served people by doing security checks at concerts and venues. He did school visits to educate people about his trainability and to demonstrate that dogs are not a threat and can help people in more ways than they know.

Adak loved to work and please, and as a result, he worked twelve of the thirteen years of his life. At thirteen, when it was finally Adak's time to go, Dan refused to leave his side. The two served together from beginning to end.

DID YOU KNOW?

Military working dogs receive intensive training, costing between twenty and forty thousand dollars per dog. The training required for specialist explosive detection dogs can cost up to a hundred and fifty thousand dollars.