Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of support available to retired canine military working dogs.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
At the end of their service, Military Working Dogs (MWDs) are individually assessed and every effort is made to rehome them with a suitable owner. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) proactively undertakes diagnostic work, surgery, or other treatment, to prepare the MWD for retirement where it is in the individual animal’s interest and can improve its quality of life in retirement. The buyer receives a complete picture of a dog’s clinical and behavioural issues, and what the prognosis might be ahead of transferral of ownership.
Ownership transfers by sale to the new owner at the point of rehoming. To mitigate any issues in the transition period, however, if the MWD is on medication, the MOD provides up to 3 months’ worth of current medication to allow continuity of care while the dog is being registered with a new civilian veterinary practice. Owners can contact us via DATR-MARC-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk if they have any concerns and they will be provided with options and/or signposted to relevant organisations.
The MOD continues to review its internal processes to deliver improvements to current support within existing workforce and financial constraints. For example, the Department has been working with re-homing charities to identify further opportunities to support retired MWDs.