Military Working Dog Don retires at Edwards Air Force Base

Don, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, retires as Military Working Dog at Edwards Air Force Base. He is awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.

• Don the dog has been on Secret Service missions to protect the president.
• In addition to Don's loyalty, his countless hours of work involving bomb detection and protection resulted in the Air Force Commendation Medal.
• A U.S. airman will be adopting Don, as he's moving away from the kennels at Edwards Air Force Base.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

His name is Don... a Military Working Dog at Edwards Air Force Base.

After Secret Service missions to protect the President... thousands of building checks and foot patrols... Don will get a well-deserved rest...

I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter...

Don was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal during a retirement ceremony on Tuesday.

His next mission is simple... to go to his new home... and get to act... like a dog.

Don was a little eager to get the ceremony done so that he could officially retire.

After the hoopla, he willingly posed for photos with his new medal for his 8 years of service.

For a dog, that's 56 years, more than double the time for many military humans.

"Don's been an excellent military working dog and we're very proud of his service," says Capt. Alex Johnson, Operations Officer for the 412th Security Forces Squadron.

Captain Alex Johnson was among those who talked about Don's loyalty to his duties, which included carrying out Secret Service missions and detecting danger.

Don, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, really deserves his treats, or in his case, his kong toy.

"These dogs are trained to absolute perfection. … As tempting as it is for a military working dog to want the treat, or want the kong, their discipline, and their integrity are so unique because they know that they don't deserve that kong or that treat until they provide that detection capability we're looking for," Johnson says.

Don's home used to be here at the dog kennels on base, but a US airman is adopting him.

He'll be forming trust with a new family as he did with his handlers, including senior airman Joshua McHugh.

"I could tell that he was a good dog throughout the 8 years of his career. Very obedient, very trustworthy. Once he's with a specific person I can tell that he clings to that handler," McHugh says.

And if you're still not impressed with this K-9... Don has secured six billion dollars in strategic test assets and is credited for the security of over 11,000 personnel at Edwards.

I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.

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