MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- It is a fact that military working dogs do just that, work. Little time, if any, is available for a working dog to catch Frisbees or play fetch. But one such dog aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is hopefully about to have his day.
Renzo, an 11-year-old Belgian Malinois, is nearing his final days of service and will soon retire, said Cpl. Jason Martinez, Renzo’s handler.
“He’s done nine years in the service,” said Martinez. “In dog years, that’s a lot of time to work. 63 years to be exact. Now that he’s getting old, he gets to be a dog … it’s his time.”
“He’s given so much time to the service I just want to give him some time to relax, some time to just be a pet as opposed to a Marine.” said Martinez. “Plus my wife likes him.”
Martinez has been Renzo’s handler off and on since he came to Barstow in 2002.
“Renzo has had 12 handlers throughout his career,” said Martinez.
“Since he’s been here, he has mainly been used to train new handlers how to handle the dogs and how to respond to their behavior.”
After retirement, one of two things will happen to Renzo, said Martinez. He’ll either be adopted, or he’ll be put down. Martinez wants to adopt him.
To be adopted, several tasks must be completed. The first such task ensures the dog is fit for life with civilians. The dog must be video taped to show it is not aggressive towards people.
“To show he’s not aggressive on the tape, we recorded Renzo being agitated by several different means,” said Martinez. “We were verbally aggressive towards the handler first, then physical towards the handler, then made aggressive movements towards the dog. The aggressiveness towards the handler is to see if the dog still has the drive to protect the handler and the movements toward the dog are to see if he will attack at aggressive gestures toward himself. Renzo did great on tape and didn’t get
aggressive at all.”
After passing the video test, a request for adoption packet must be sent to the Department
of Defense Military Working Dog Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Before being sent however, the packet must be approved and signed by the unit’s commander.
“That’s where we are now,” said Martinez. “It is just one step away from Lackland.”
Since he’s been at MCLB Barstow, Renzo has supported the U.S. Border Patrol sniffing out more than 1,000 pounds of illegal contraband and narcotics, said Martinez. Other departments Renzo has supported include the Barstow Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Irwin and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
With all his accomplishments, it would be a shame to just put himdown, said Martinez. “He’s been such a credit to the military, he deserves
some of his own time now.”