From reading my reviewer’s comment on my plans for presenting my project, I have come to the conclusion that making a board is tedious and useless. Instead, I will create a website on Weebly which is actually easier. So Weebly is quite neat; it’s my first time using it. I have high hopes for my website but I just need to finish putting together the posts that will be on the website. There’s so many parts to putting together a website and I want my site to be aesthetically pleasing but first, info.
I have changed my question to focus on the history of service/war dogs and how the usage of service and war dogs have helped people. My thesis hasn’t changed much because it does answer the refined question. Throughout my website, I am trying to explain and argue that service and war dogs have a positive and great impact on the lives of people. Not only do they perform specific tasks but they also provide their owner(s) company. And I mean, who doesn’t love dogs!?!
I’m still working on finding more primary sources but I think I have solved this issue partially as I have opened up my research. Through my recent research, I found many great sources that provide me new paths to take to further my project. For example, I found great news sources that talk about service/war dogs and they provide pictures (primary sources) as well as links to other sites that provide even more information! Additionally, I found some great pieces that will help with the “timeline” on my site. Since the the use of war dogs, organizations such as CIA K9 Corps have been created to use dogs for other purposes. This demonstrates that, not only do war dogs and service dogs have a significant role in the lives of their handlers/owners, the use and importance of trained dogs is increasing.
Not only will I be providing information that supports my thesis, but I will provide as much additional information as long as I have time for it. I want my website to be more than just a project. I want people to be aware of service and war dogs and how meaningful they are to us even if we don’t have one ourselves. And no, this won’t detract from my project.
An interesting (and quite sad!) fact is that war dogs used to euthanized or abandoned after retirement instead of being honored. It wasn’t until November 2000 when President Clinton passed “Robby’s Law” that allowed the dog’s handler and family to have first dibs at adopting the retired dog. Now there are organizations that take in these retired dogs and put them up for adoption to loving families.
HISTORIES 