Farmington Hills Man Lobbies for National Recognition of K-9 Heroes

Of the 4,000 military service dogs who went overseas during the Vietnam war, only 273 returned. And Farmington Hills resident Ken Reynolds wants to see that they – and all other service dogs – get the recognition they deserve.

Reynolds still remembers spotting a photo of the War Dog Memorial located in South Lyon Township, published in a 2010 edition of The Detroit News. 

"They were asking for volunteers to clean it up, because it was overgrown and almost invisible," he said. 

A 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Reynolds contacted Phil Weitlauf of the Milford AMVETS Post, the "real powerhouse and driving force" behind the memorial clean-up, and got involved in the effort. Reynolds' interest in war dogs led him to research whether other K-9 Memorials existed, and he eventually found 39. 

Reynolds also learned that K-9 Veterans Day was celebrated in four states – Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and New Jersey. The movement, he said, started in Florida, with a man named Joe White, who wanted to create a national event on the official birthday of the U.S. K-9 Corps, March 13. 

The effort is not only for military dogs, Reynolds said, but for all service K-9s, including those serving with the police, customs, border patrol and F.B.I. "They are protecting our country from terrorists, and that is equally important to our national security," Reynolds said.

Sadly, White was just 60 years old when he died in 2009, and his wife, Sally, has tried to keep the organization going. Reynolds aims to do all he can to help.

"I was asked to pick up the baton and carry it on," he said, "and that's what I'm doing." 

In addition to helping organize a K-9 Veterans Day celebration at the South Lyon Township memorial this year, Reynolds pushed for a proclamation signed by Gov. Rick Snyder declaring the very first K-9 Veterans Day in Michigan. He now spends as much as eight hours a day on research and lobbying members of Michigan's congressional delegation for federal legislation that will recognize K-9 veterans. 

He said another bill is in the works to ensure that when someone wants to adopt a military dog that is still overseas but no longer in service, the government will cover travel costs, so the dogs have a chance of getting "a forever home", rather than being euthanized.

"The thing that got to me was that 4,000 dogs went over (in the Vietnam war), and we treated our dogs like equipment," he said. 

And that just doesn't seem right to a man who describes his own Dachshund/Golden Retriever mix Mandy as "my daughter in fur". 

To learn more about Reynolds' work, visit michigank-9veteransdayproject.blogspot.com.