Baby PPershing at the US Military Working Dog Teams National Monument, Lackland AFB. FAMILY PHOTO.
Nothing can fully prepare you for how deeply you will fall in love with your first foster puppy from the Defense Department’s Military Working Dog Breeding Program. Lisa and Jerry N. found out the only way you can—by diving in. They wanted to do whatever they could to help protect US and allied troops. Fostering a warrior pup seemed like a perfect way to step up. Little did they know that they were about to become part of something way bigger than themselves.
Many San Antonio area families apply for the privilege of fostering, but only one hundred families are selected each year. After all, it’s not just a puppy they are asking to raise. It’s half of a life-saving defensive weapon system.
When they receive their call to pick up their foster pup, Lisa and Jerry are thrilled. They know it would be challenging but very rewarding—if everything goes just right. “Jerry and I work hard at what we take on,” Lisa proclaims. “We’re ready.”
Lackland is a short ride from their home. Jerry is active duty so they do not have to go through the security check required of civilians. They follow directions for about three-quarters of a mile on a winding two-lane road to a very ordinary-looking building with no sign on the door.
As soon as Jerry and Lisa walk inside, their eyes are drawn to a large photo of a formidable Belgian Malinois with her fangs flashing as she strains against her handler’s leash during a controlled-aggression training exercise. Wow! Lisa thinks as she looks at the photo, I hope our foster puppy grows up to be a fierce defender of our soldiers like that one!
Lisa holds her new foster pup. PHOTO BY JANET DELTUVA.
Lisa, Jerry, and the other fosters are ushered into the training room where they listen to a briefing on the joys and pitfalls of fostering. It’s filled with cautionary stories of “wicked smart” athletic puppies that tear into anything while charming everyone in sight. At one point, the speaker holds up what had been brake lines for a one-ton truck. They had been totally ripped up in a matter of seconds by a single foster pup—while they were still installed in the truck! There are good reasons why experienced fosters refer to their truly fierce little canines as “malociraptors,” “malligators,” and “fur missiles.”
Jerry and Lisa pay close attention to the long list of dos and don’ts. They had done considerable reading about Belgian Malinois dogs and knew a lot about what they were getting into. Okay, Jerry thinks, let’s meet our baby dog!
A moment later, three Puppy Program staffers stride into the room, each bearing a little bundle of wriggling joy. One of them walks up to Lisa, carefully hands her a baby dog and says, “Here’s your foster puppy. His name is PPershing. Good luck!” Lisa’s heart leaps as she cradles the pup. Jerry throws his arms around his wife and the tiny PPershing.
On the way home, Lisa, Jerry, and PPershing stop at the US Military Working Dog Teams National Monument at Lackland. The monument was created by John Burnam, a heroic US Army Vietnam War canine handler, author, and retired master sergeant. Jerry and Lisa follow foster tradition by reverently posing PPershing inside the monument’s helmet. At first, the little warrior pup seems worried, but then, he looks more confident.
For the next five and a half months, Lisa and Jerry follow the detailed instructions contained in the Puppy Program’s Foster Manual. There are hard and fast rules for feeding, teaching basic obedience, socializing the dogs in all kinds of public settings, and daily exercise. “A well-exercised puppy is a happy puppy! At least four hours a day of vigorous physical activity, play, and training, spaced out in small intervals, is ideal,” the manual directs.
Quite grown up PPershing poses outside Lisa and Jerry’s home. FAMILY PHOTO.
It’s a lot of intense hard work and outrageous fun. Because of their efforts and his genetics, PPershing grows into one very confident young dog. In the blink of an eye, the almost six months of fostering is over, and Lisa and Jerry have returned to Lackland with PPershing. They’ve parked the car and gotten PPershing out of his car crate, hooked up his leash, and walked into Holland Hospital. But this time, it isn’t for the regular monthly training session with the other fosters or the routine weigh-in and health check.
Jerry and Lisa take seats in the waiting area. PPershing sits next to Lisa. This is the point at which some fosters secretly hope their baby washes out of the program in a few weeks and they get to take him home with them forever. It’s widely known among fosters that some pups simply do not adapt well to their new life back on the base and some of those dogs do get sent home to their fosters permanently.
Some first-time foster parents have big hearts and great intentions, but cannot withstand the actual, sometimes seemingly endless demands for patience, time, and energy that go into raising these warrior pups. In those cases, the frustrated first-timers return the puppy to the Breeding Program, which quickly places the baby MWD-to-be into another foster home.
Lisa and Jerry know they might never again see the dog they have come to love so much. They’ve been briefed on exactly what will happen next. They have known this was coming for almost six months but now it’s real. The three of them wait to be taken into the clinic for PPershing’s final foster health check. Lisa and Jerry are doing their best to keep it together emotionally. They haven’t been in the hospital for more than a few minutes when another couple enters and sits nearby.
Jerry smiles and tells them about PPershing, that they are about to turn him in to begin his formal military training. The other couple starts telling Lisa and Jerry that they have come to pick up a ten-year-old MWD who’s just been retired. They’re going to take him home and share their life with him.
For Lisa it’s an almost overwhelming moment. “Here we are just about to turn in our baby to start his career, and there they are, picking up a veteran MWD to give him a comfy retirement—in their home, in their arms. Full circle of life I guess.”
Moments later, the quiet drama of their farewell begins to unfold just as Lisa and Jerry were told it would. Tracy, the foster consultant, arrives at the appointed time. Tracy gently leads PPershing and his family from the waiting area about thirty feet down the corridor, through the secured double doors and into a veterinary treatment room.
A US Army vet tech is waiting with a calm smile. She’s been through this moment dozens of times and understands how powerful it is for the family. She examines the puppy, says how good and strong PPershing looks and what a good job Lisa and Jerry have done. When the brief exam is over, Tracy says, “It’s time.” Lisa hugs PPershing and begins to break down. Tracy guides the dog out the side door, and PPershing marches alongside her out of the hospital with his tail held high, on his way to his new life in the kennels and a year of basic training. He never looks back.
Lisa is crying softly. Jerry is clutching her and the empty leash as they head for the exit that takes them back through the waiting room. There they see the other couple having just been handed their newly retired war dog. He’s a beauty with a little gray in his cheeks.
Lisa says farewell to PPershing. PHOTO COURTESY LISA AND JERRY N.
The couple waves them over and motions them to join them. The old MWD sees them coming and somehow knows exactly what to do. He slowly approaches. Lisa leans forward to pet him. He leans into her and then looks into her eyes and licks away her tears. In that moment Lisa knows that if PPershing adjusts well to the kennels and goes on to have a career protecting our military, she and Jerry will probably want to adopt an old, retired Military Working Dog and bring him to his forever home—with them. 