HoA: Best Source

As I am looking into the comparison of therapy dogs and war dogs (MWD), I have divided my time researching both types of service dogs. First, I started researching military dogs.

My best source so far has been from the website: www.uswardogs.org. It is the official website for the United States War Dogs Association. It is such a good find for my project because I gained a ton of information from an accredited source that specifies in my subtopic (MWD). Additionally, the website contains a lot of information about U.S. war dogs in all wars starting with World War I which will become useful when I describe the history. The information goes in depth which is great because I’ll get more out of it.

I think it’s a wonderful idea that the U.S. has an organization that’s dedicated to these dogs. While I was skimming through the site, I became interested in the dogs themselves because there’s a ton of pictures.

I will definitely use the historical information about American MWDs. This might be presented in the form of a timeline with explanations of key events. Also, there is information about the types of war dogs, how they’re trained, etc. that I will include in my project as well. The best part of the site is the pictures of the dogs throughout time; they’re really cute. These will be used as pictures on my project board.

History of Anything (HoA) Project: Service Dogs

For my History of Anything Project, I chose service dogs in the United States as my topic.

    I have a few goals for this project. First, I do want to learn more about service dogs and how they help people. Furthermore, I’d like to have an interesting display for my project, whatever that may be. I also hope to get a chance to visit local organizations that work with service dogs and meet a few dogs myself- that’ll probably be the highlight of my project.

    I have always had a passion and love for dogs. Sadly, I do not have a dog of my own, but my interest is kept alive through videos and pictures of dogs on my social media as well as my friends’ dogs. Recently, I have been captivated by the news of the limited availability of service dogs for veterans with disabilities such as the common PTSD. I learned that many veterans commit suicide each day and that if they had a service dog, their suicides could have been prevented.

    The tough part of doing this topic is that there is not a lot of information on this topic, specifically online. I will definitely need to do some deeper research and maybe visit the library. My topic is definitely different and is not necessarily the most researched topic in the world, thus, I face some obstacles with finding the history of service dogs. However, I do have more recent information on service dogs nowadays.

    As for my plans, I need to narrow down my topic a bit so I know precisely what information I need to gather. I will probably outline my project to have main questions/topics to cover. From there, I will gather all the information necessary. I most likely will be doing a project board so I’ll need to get all the materials. Additionally, I need to start researching local organizations that train and/or provide service dogs and get in touch with them because I hope to compile a video of my visit(s) and the information I learn. If I can do art, which I really can’t, I might add some type of interesting aspect to my project board so it won’t just be a project board that I am presenting. Lastly, since we are submitting our project digitally, I need to take pictures of the end product(s) as well as write a short intro/blurb (since the rest of the information will be in the pictures of the board).

 

Modern Turning Point in US History

Of the 21st Century, 2008 contained several significant events. The United States experienced the Great Recession that was the gravest financial upset since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Unemployment rose above ten percent, the highest level since the early 1980s. The nation saw the shedding of 700,000 jobs a month. Furthermore, people succumbed to anxiety and fear as many Americans lost jobs and homes. Although the United States endured the Great Recession, it also experienced a milestone with the election of the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama.

Although 2008 saw several key events, 2001 was a turning point in United States history. Beginning with the terrorist attacks on American soil on September 11, 2001, Americans saw a change in government policy and individual psyche. Following the attacks, the nation was overwhelmed with fear of future attacks as well as indignation towards the attackers. The US government began focusing on enforcing antiterrorism through counterinsurgency tactics like training of police forces, infiltration of suspected organizations, and innovative intelligence gathering. Furthermore, the US sought to protect the nation’s borders with the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

The attacks in 2001 instigated a war with Iraq the next year. Bush claimed Iraq, as well as Iran and North Korea, were a threat to American security. In October 2002, Congress authorized the president to employ armed force to defend against Iraqi threats to America’s national security and to enforce the United Nations resolutions regarding Iraq. Iraq continued to defy the United Nations weapons inspections.  

Overall, 2001 was a turning point in US history because it altered the government’s policies to focus on security within the nation as well as abroad, it exposed the nation to the reality of danger, and it influenced the United States’ war on terrorism.