Dayton clubs outfit working dogs with desert protective gear Published July 17, 2008 By Derek Kaufman 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs DAYTON, Ohio -- Military working dogs getting ready for deployment from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have some new best friends. Starline Nunley of Springfield, Ohio - with help from the Gem City Dog Obedience Club in Dayton and several sponsors - is providing protective cooling vests, goggles, doggie booties to military working dogs headed for places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Nunley was joined by about 100 supporters including the Warren County-based Clover Canines 4-H Club on July 16 to present three sets of protective equipment to deploying K-9 teams from Wright-Patterson's 88th Security Forces Squadron. It was Nunley's son, Army Maj. Parker Frawley, an Apache Longbow helicopter pilot, who first described to her the important contributions and difficult working conditions for military working dogs deployed supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. During his first tour to Mosul, Iraq, he observed how extreme heat, hot sands, asphalt and dust storms can wreak havoc on the German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois which make up the bulk of military K-9s. He thought some care packages from home for the animals could really make a difference for them. Nunley was delighted to pitch in to help out the four-legged troops and their handlers who she said are helping save American lives by identifying explosives, narcotics and rooting out insurgents. She found a receptive audience in the 200-plus member Gem City Dog Obedience Club and they quickly went to work fund raising. "That's when things really began to take off," she said. With the help of a friend, she established a SupportMilitaryWorkingDogs.org Web site. To date since May of this year, her efforts have resulted in the funding and delivery of 46 sets of Doggles Goggles, Muttluks booties, and ChillyDog Cool Vests to military working dogs. Nunley's passion to support deployed service members has turned to educate the American public about the work K-9s from all of the military services are doing. She said her goal is to outfit every deployed working dog. Defenders from the 88th Security Forces Squadron at Wright-Patt including working dogs Reno and Scott were on hand at the Gem City Club's agility training site in Dayton Wednesday where they put on detection and patrol demonstrations before accepting three sets of protective equipment. When they learned that Airmen and working dogs from Wright-Patterson's kennel were deployed in places like Kyrgystan and Iraq, the Clover Canines 4-H Club volunteered to adopt them. In just three weeks they raised more than $900 in donations to fund three sets of the protective gear. "We knew the money was well spent," said Gretchen Kesler, youth treasurer for the Clover Canines. "We knew it was quite a bit of money, but supporting them in such hot weather was worth it." Tech. Sgt. Kelly Mylott, kennel master for the 88th Security Forces Squadron said she was extremely grateful for the outpouring of community support for her deploying Airmen and their working dog partners. Wright-Patterson typically has seven dog teams assigned for patrol and detection duties and they frequently deploy. "I can assure you this gear is going to make a huge difference for our dogs. We simply can't say thank you enough," Mylott said. Club members intend to correspond monthly with Staff Sgt. Melissa Osterbaan and working dog dog Scott, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois preparing to deploy to the Arabian Gulf region. "The dogs are just like us. They are more eager to work longer when they are comfortable," Osterbaan said. "It's nice to get help from the community...to know they care as much as we do about the dogs." After putting on a demonstration of their dogs capabilities and obedience, Tech. Sgt. Mylott took questions from an enthusiastic audience. One asked why she's been a military working dog handler for the past 10 years. "It's the best job in the Air Force," she said to rousing applause. No Federal endorsement of sponsors intended.