Hanaeleh would like to recognize the sacrifices that the men and woman of the United States have made in the service of this country. In addition, we would also like to recognize animals who have served our military, including dogs, horses, pigeons, dolphins, orcas, and even sea lions!
Dogs have officially served in the military in the United States since 1814 to protect individuals and carry secret communications across enemy lines. We do not officially know how many dogs have served throughout our history, as we did not keep records until 1968, however we do know that dogs have served in both peacetime and wartime since.
Horses have officially served the U.S. since our revolution, and while most historians say that horses were only used through WWII, the truth is that we still have horses serving in our military today. While part of their job is to serve as ambassadors to the public, the horses are also been used since 9/11 to train the Army Special Forces troops. The troops learn basic equine care and riding skills in preparation for for serving over in the Middle East and Afghanistan, where there are places only accessible by horse.
On another note, horses are used to help our returning servicemen and women. They work with those who are acclimating back into society as well as those who were wounded in battle. Soldiers who participate in equine-assisted psychotherapy have shown improvement physically as well as psychologically, and soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injury have also shown intellectual improvement after working with horses.
Thank you to all of our companions, and we hope that we will continue to honor and remember all of those who have served through the years.