Carlos Aranda was visibly nervous.
Some of it was the assembled news media — camera crews and reporters crammed inside a conference room at the Hampton Inn just off Highway 99 to see what was promised to be a heartfelt reunion.
But mostly, it was the anticipation of seeing Don again.
“He was my first dog,” says Aranda, a Master at Arms in the U.S. Navy who works as a military dog handler out of NAS Lemoore.
When they met, Aranda was a first-time handler and Don was a veteran, having worked various details, including with the United States Secret Service doing security sweeps for the President of the United States.
“He helped me become the handler that I am today,” Aranda says.
“He holds a special place in my heart.”
MWD Bravo 069
Don, or Donnie as Aranda calls him, is a military working dog, designated MWD Bravo 069. The 6-year-old Belgian Malinois was trained to sniff out explosives of all kinds and did anti-terrorism protection with Aranda until the dog was injured last year. Don has since healed from the injury, but was recently medically retired.
Which meant he needed to find a home.
That isn’t always easy for dogs like Don, says Niki Dawson, director of logistics for New York-based nonprofit Paws for War, which offers resources to military members and their pets by rescuing and training dogs and providing companion animals to veterans and first responders.
Every military dog handler “retires” at least one animal…
