20th Annual War Dog Memorial Celebration at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
By Silas White
On June 11, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery held its 20th annual War Dog Memorial Celebration. This year, the ceremony had two guest speakers. The first was Marine Corps Veteran Matthew Plumeri, who talked about his bond with Gulliver, an 11 year old Vizsla who served at his side in Afghanistan. The second was Nancy Schiesari, who recently directed and produced “Canine Soldiers, The Militarization of Love,” a documentary exploring the use of military working dogs.
Plumeri said he met Gulliver at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, where he was training to become a handler for military working dogs, or MWDs. Gulliver, and many other service dogs used by the military, are specially trained to hunt for explosive devices.
Plumeri and Gulliver were deployed to Afghanistan in June of 2013. During his tour, Plumeri and Gulliver walked point on every patrol they were ever on.
“Nobody that ever walked behind us was injured because of improvised explosive devices, or anything for that matter,” Plumeri said. “I definitely credit that 100% to Gulliver, and couldn’t thank him enough for getting me and my friends home in one piece.”
Plumeri faced an uphill battle to adopt Gulliver once his tour was over. His request was initially denied by the military so Gulliver could serve under a different handler, and Plumeri returned home alone. Plumeri went back to school, at Marist College, but continued to try to reunite with Gulliver.
“I reached out to the Veterans Club at Marist, and told them my story, and that my kennel master had recently contacted me and told me ‘give it a couple months, you’re gonna be able to come get him’,” Plumeri said. “They suggested a GoFundMe campaign so I could go back out to California and get Gulliver.”
Plumeri’s campaign raised over $10,000, and Plumeri and Gulliver were able to be re-untied.
Schiesari, who spoke after Plumeri at the Hartsdale ceremony, discussed the reasons behind her film and the bond between man and animal.
“A team is neither man nor dog, it is half man and half dog,” she said. “Relying on each other, performing what neither can do alone. Man thinks ahead, animals stay in the moment and together the two form a third effective entity.”
Schiesari also discussed the use of dogs in war throughout the ages, such as the use of dogs in war by the Romans and Spanish Conquistadors, and also in more modern settings like WWII and Vietnam.
The event was attended by dozens of people, and was followed by a Pet Adoption Fair sponsored by the volunteers of the Shelter Pet Alliance.
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