Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Rebecca’s War Dog of the Week: Zac and Zoey, Chaplain Service Dogs

By Rebecca Frankel Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent Chap. Maj. Karen Hallett goes to work at Fort Bliss in Texas with a little extra help — Zac and Zoey, two big black labs and trained therapy dogs. The dogs are there as a complement to Hallet’s work with the soldiers on base, there to help ...

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632967_war_dog_edit.jpg

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Chap. Maj. Karen Hallett goes to work at Fort Bliss in Texas with a little extra help — Zac and Zoey, two big black labs and trained therapy dogs.

The dogs are there as a complement to Hallet’s work with the soldiers on base, there to help servicemen and women deal with "traumatic event[s]" and PTSD.

According to Capt. John Brimley’s story about Hallett and these dogs, military chaplains don’t generally do their job with dogs but Hallett was able to get permission. She’s been working with Zoey. Zac, who is set to do a tour in Afghanistan is named for Airman Zachary Cuddleback who was killed while on his way to Afghanistan in a shooting at the Frankfort Airport in 2011. (In the photo above, Zac, rests on Hallett’s leg.)

Zac and Zoey have proven to be very good at their jobs, sometimes, I’m sure without really trying. They are, as we’ve discussed before, a gateway to feelings, they provide comfort and help those who need security feel safer and more relaxed. What a dog can provide with his mere presence is a natural fit for the kind of work Hallett is doing in the military — and hopefully their story will help kick off a trend — more therapy dogs in the service of the military.

As Hallett told Brimley, "’I think I’m a very good chaplain,’ Hallett said. ‘But I see people every day because they want to pet Zoey.’"

Rebecca Frankel is senior editor, special projects at Foreign Policy. Her book, War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love will be published on Oct. 14.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class David Parish

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: War

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