Although the Department of Defense claims that handlers adopt their MWDs in 90% of the cases, for the TEDD handlers, the reunion at the 2/10/14 adoption event equated to approximately 2 to 3%, and even those, apparently, were not through the efforts of OPMG.
Handlers have relayed stories with different plots, but the final scene was always the same: no one knew which form to send, where to send it, or if they were told where to send it, it was deemed the wrong place. No one gave guidance; no clearinghouse for adoption information was created; no one answered the phone, if calls were made. Lackland would point handlers in another direction. After the 2/10/14 adoption event, those handlers who did call the Pentagon or Richard A. Vargus, HQDA MWD Program Manager, were told lies on the status of their battle buddies. Hiding the fact of the location of the dogs and who had “adopted” them became the apparent focus after successfully keeping the TEDD handlers from the adoption event.
Dozens and dozens of dogs went out the doors of the sub-contractor, K2 Solutions, in February 2014 at the adoption event conducted by the Office of the Provost Marshal General. At this time, we know of only two MWDs that went to former handlers. They learned of the event via someone who was not in the OPMG hierarchy. The reference to 10 USC § 2583 was stripped from the adoption form by using an outdated form (not the standard AFI23-126 packet), and dogs were given without charge to private companies, friends and associates of the adoption officials, military friends and subordinates, sub-contractor employees, and individuals representing themselves as law enforcement representatives, when they were getting a trophy dog as a pet. Not a scintilla of background information was reviewed or checked, which, we believe, played a part in the death of one MWD a month later.
Because this adoption event was so flawed and perverted from Congress’ and the American public’s preferred outcome, we feel the only proper action would be to void all the adoptions.
Justice for TEDD Handlers 