Monday, March 15, 2010

Afraid to Ask What Happened to His Tail

A bomb-detecting dog named Treo has been awarded Britain's Dickin medal for his wartime service.





The US DoD doesn't permit animals to be honored for their service in this way. The official line, when medals that had been awarded were revoked early in WWII, was that to do so profanes the medals of human service members.

There are a lot of soldiers and veterans out there who owe their lives to a patrol dog or bomb dog who are quick to differ with this attitude.

Is it just me, or is there something neurologically wrong with Treo? Anyone know the story there? I'm almost afraid of what the answer might be.

8 comments:

  1. OK, I watched it twice but I'm not sure why you're wondering about a neurological deficit. What are you seeing that I'm not?

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  2. I don't see a deficit either, though Og knows I'm not as observant as I'd like to be.

    He does run more like a Rottie or a dock-tailed Aussie than a Lab.

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  3. Head tilt, strange affect in the close-in shots. Something not quite right about his visual contact. Not symmetrical -- torqued to one side, sort of.

    He kind of strikes me as similar to Tweek on South Park.

    I may just be reacting to the visual of an extremely hyperactive animal.

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  4. Given that the police honor their fallen police dogs, I don't see how giving dogs medals profanes anyone service.

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  5. I see what you're seeing, but in the context of the clip I'm not sure it's meaningful. Distracting, yes. Meaningful, unclear.

    He also seems hyper-focused in the bit where his ears are blowing in the cold. Maybe he's just that intense.

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  6. I think he is maybe just a chow-hound and is spazzing out tracking the food that they are luring him into poses with.

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  7. Maybe Treo was training Belgium or the Netherlands. Lots of working Malinois, GSD's, and Dutch shepherds are docked in those countries for some reason. Maybe the practice is also used on Labradors.

    Treo does not sound like an English name for a dog. It does sound Dutch/Flemish.

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  8. Sorry to be annoying but this is just a test.

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