BLUE ASH, Ohio — They pant, shed and bark, and for decades have served our country in military service and alongside police officers. Dogs are often said to be man's best friend, but in many cases, they've saved lives and kept communities safe.
One such dog would enter Joel Altman’s life after his service in the Coast Guard when he was hired by the FBI as a uniformed police officer at their headquarters.
“In 2006, I was selected to be an explosive detection canine handler and went through training and got my first dog, Kurt,” Altman said. “I was paired with him, a black lab. We worked together for the next basically five years with the FBI, and then we transferred over to the Defense Department and worked for one of the intelligence agencies that's part of the DOD.”
The two were inseparable.
“I was with him every day. I spent more time with that dog than I did my own family, my own wife for many years,” Altman said. “He went with us on vacation back home to Cincinnati.”
When Kurt’s service time was up, he was retired and Altman was able to adopt him as a permanent member of his family. He gave Kurt the best retirement he could and after five years, it was time for Kurt to cross the rainbow bridge. That’s when he found out about Angel's Paws.
“When I heard about Angel's Paws and the work that they do coming out to somebody's home to do the in-home euthanasia for the pet, I mean, I've never heard of it,” Altman said.
Angel's Paws is the home hospice care solution created over 13 years ago by Tammy Wynn.
“These are true family members who need the same level of support, both human and furry ... they need the medical support as the pet but the people, you know, it's a big punch in the gut when you hear the news about your own pet,” Wynn said.
While the for-profit side of Angel's Paws helps with counseling, home euthanasia and other services to help grieving families deal with the loss of their fur babies, Angel's Watch is the nonprofit side with a focus on providing those same services for military and police dogs — but at no cost.
“I truly have a belief that the pets — that our canine officers, military and police dogs specifically — they rescue all of us as a greater community,” Wynn said. “I just had a heart that I felt like we needed to provide the end-of-life service and give them that final salute at no charge to their handlers.”
Kurt’s last day was filled with family at their lake home instead of a sterile veterinarian’s office with cold floors and stainless steel tables.
“They came to my home and gave Kurt a dignified last day,” Altman said. “He got to have his last meal — (it) was a hamburger from I think Burger King — and we put him down later that afternoon.”
He said the team from Angel's Watch draped Kurt in an American flag to honor his service and escorted him out to the car for cremation back at Angel's Paws facility in Blue Ash.
“It couldn't have been a better experience when you lose a pet like that, or a partner in Kurt's case,” Altman said.
Altman is also a children's book author and penned a new children's book with Wynn on how to grieve the loss of your pet. They both will be at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. to sign copies of the book.
If you’re interested in adopting a former Military Working Dog visit the 37th Training Wing’s website. You may also visit Save A Vetfor more information on military and police dog adoptions.
For more information on the services offered at Angels Paws, you can visit their website here.
If you have a veteran story to tell in your community, email homefront@wcpo.com. You also can join the Homefront Facebook group, follow Craig McKee on Facebook and find more Homefront stories here.
