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MANNHEIM, Germany — Though a
military working dog might officially be classified as a “highly
specialized piece of equipment” by Army standards, in the world of
military working dogs — especially where a dog is a partner, a friend and a battle buddy to its handler — the bond that develops is often one of genuine caring and love. To lose that partner — that buddy — is a loss that is deeply felt.
It is not like losing a piece of equipment; it is truly like losing a friend.
The Army lost one of its finest working dogs May 6 in Kaiserslautern when Ardy, a patrol explosive detection dog with the 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, was put to rest after it was discovered that his aggressive case of cancer could not be treated.
It was a somber end for Ardy, who soldiered on despite the years of hard work and multiple deployments.
Ardy began his career in Germany in 2003 in Darmstadt. In his seven years as an MWD, Ardy deployed four times: twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When Ardy’s handler, Staff Sgt. Kristopher Maranville, kennel master for the Hohenfels Kennels, 527th MP Co., first got word in 2007 that he would be getting Ardy, he said that even then, “I knew I was getting a good dog.”
But, more than getting a good dog, Sergeant Maranville was getting a good partner.
“They were a match made in heaven. They were like father and son,” said Staff Sgt. Terrence Parker, a fellow dog handler with the 527th MP Co., 709th MP Bn.
Ardy and Sergeant Maranville deployed together once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, where they went on combat missions outside the wire and provided force protection.
As a PEDD, Ardy’s training and instincts were as important to the success of their missions as the training of the Soldiers he was there to protect. Ardy’s contributions to the Army and its Soldiers are not easy to measure, but they are impossible to overlook.
Though a typical working dog usually begins to be cycled out of its job at around 7 years old, Ardy was still going strong at almost 10, until his illness took hold.
“He was a hard worker,” Sergeant Maranville said, “He liked to do his job. He wouldn’t quit doing his job.”
And while Ardy may have been the “old man of the kennel” as Sergeant Parker called him, his age didn’t seem to hold him back in his job or in his affection for his partner. Even though he weighed 85 pounds, “Ardy was so happy whenever (Sergeant Maranville) would walk into the room; he would bounce up and down,” Sergeant Parker said.
That type of a welcome for his partner seemed to typify Ardy’s personality. Despite the fact that he was an 85-pound German Shepherd, Ardy made friends wherever he went. Everyone liked him, Sergeant Maranville said. He just had that kind of personality.
“If you met him once, you liked him,” Sergeant Maranville said. “The day they put him down, he had all the vet techs in tears. He was just that kind of dog. They grew attached to him in less than a week.”
Trained dogs have a proud heritage in the military. They have been used in the world’s military forces since they were first organized — amplifying Soldiers’ skills by acting as an extension of them.
