In the month of November, we celebrate our veterans and this season of gratitude with Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving. In light of this, we want to celebrate the four-legged heroes that serve our communities as working dogs.
In the United States, the Army began the War Dog Program in 1942 during World War II. Dogs were initially used a sentries, scouts, and message carriers. Ever since, military dogs have served in every major US conflict. Now, their main roles are explosive detection, search and rescue, patrol, and tracking.
Beyond military service, dogs also fulfill other working roles in the community, including police dogs, explosive and drug detection, search and rescue, service dogs, and more. At Waconia Veterinary Clinic, we feel lucky to help provide care for a number of working dogs, and recognize the extra care and responsibility they require.
We want to highlight one special patient, Gryf. Gryf is a retired police dog who served on the Edina Police Department. Gryf was born in Poland in 2016, and imported to the US in 2017, where he was paired with his handler, Edina Police Officer Mike Bengtson. Gryf served the city of Edina for six and a half years as a narcotics detection and patrol dog. As a patrol dog, Gryf’s responsibilities were obedience, evidence detection, suspect searches, criminal apprehension/recalls and apprehensions with gunfire. During his service, K9 Gryf and Officer Bengtson responded to 538 total calls for service, and during these calls, the team located or assisted with the arrest of 60 suspects. Since his retirement in 2024, Gryf gets to enjoy a wonderful life of luxury as a companion to his K9 handler and his family.
Thank you, Mike and Gryf, for your years of service!
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