Lucky K-9 still sniffing after 70 (dog) years

Published Aug. 1, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan -- A decade of service is more than most military members serve; in fact with the deployment tempo and demands for military working dogs, it's on the higher end of a MWD's service as well.

But, Lucky is not a typical dog. At 10 years old, this Belgian Malinois is the oldest MWD at the Transit Center. He's been in the Air Force longer than his handler, Staff Sgt. Christopher Fall, a seven-year veteran.

The white-mussed, brown-eyed dog has been working with Fall for 10 months. When Fall found out he was going to be teamed up with this senior dog he was far from disappointed.
"I was excited; I have spent time around Lucky," he said. "I saw Lucky work before and I knew how good of a dog he was."

It didn't take long for the two to establish a bond.

"It took less than a week," Fall said. "That's because Lucky and I already had some rapport. With a dog that you don't have any rapport established, it can take up to a month."

Lucky is Fall's second MWD and no two are alike, he said.

"Every dog is different; Lucky works faster than my previous dog, Uran," said the native of Santa Rosa, Calif.

This veteran MWD has a wealth of knowledge under his collar -- Lucky is on his fifth deployment. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Fall, what older MWDs, like Lucky, lack in youthful exuberance they make up for in experience.

"I don't think there are drawbacks to working with older dogs. They aren't as fast as a younger MWD, but older MWDs are just as reliable and dependable," Fall said. "The benefits are the experience they have. They have been doing the job for so long it's almost second nature to them."

On average, MWDs usually retire between 8-10 years of age, according to Joseph Villalobos, 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron MWD trainer.

"It's really cool when you get to work with one that's made it this far," Villalobos said. "After 9/11, the operations tempo has greatly increased and all of our dogs are being worked harder than ever. Some even more than most GIs, so you don't see as many lasting very long. Due to the constant change in environment and other stressful situations related to combat missions, our poor puppies are pooping out much sooner than before. They love what they do and will continue to do so until they aren't physically capable of doing it anymore."

Lucky and Fall will depart the Transit Center in August after completing a six-month tour here. They will return to Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., where Lucky will continue his duties until he is called on to deploy again or deemed ready for retirement.

"It is up to my veterinarian to decide when Lucky is ready to be retired," Fall said. "As of now, Lucky is 100-percent healthy. Every day I work with Lucky is an enjoyable experience. When I go to work seeing the look of happiness on Lucky's face, it's always great."