Bill Would Investigate Military Dog Adoption Controversy

Lane Kjellsen, CEO of Southern Pines-based K2 Solutions, asked the state’s congressional leaders earlier this year for a formal investigation over alleged inappropriate adoptions held on K2’s property in February 2014 after the company was targeted by activists for its part in the controversial event.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the Senate Committee for Armed Services and Veteran Affairs, took the lead and sent a letter to the Secretary of the Army in March. He was joined in his bid for more information by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Concord Republican whose district includes Moore County. Hudson filed an amendment that directs the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a detailed report on the adoption of retired military working dogs from the former Tactical Explosive Dog [TEDD] program.

“It continues my quest to get answers for veterans who were unable to adopt their combat dogs because of hollow promises from our government,” Hudson said in a statement.

The legislation the Senate will take up codifies the process for dealing with animals and specifically defines canines as “military animals.” The section also includes a provision that requires the transfer of dogs from private contractors back to the Air Force’s 341st Training Squadron for the adoption process. The squadron serves as the executive agent for all military working dogs.

“This portion of the (legislation) will ensure that protocols will be in place to give service members the opportunity to adopt canines once the dogs’ service time is completed. Putting one branch in control of the adoption process will ensure that animals have the best chance of being reunited with their partner,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

The TEDD program was established as a temporary initiative to supplement the military’s existing supply of bomb-sniffing dogs. In 2013, a contract was awarded to Davis Page Management Systems with K2 sub-contracted to provide canine and handler training during the final year of the program.

When the TEDD program was discontinued in early February 2014, the Air Force delegated the disposal of the surplus dogs to Davis Page and the Office of the Provost Marshall General [OPMG]. K2 kenneled and cared for the dogs as they returned from deployment until the adoption events.

In a prior statement, Kjellsen said that “K2 played no role and had no say in the adoption process. K2 simply turned the dogs over to the government-approved recipients. It must be emphasized that the TEDD dogs never ‘belonged’ to K2, and that no one affiliated with K2 was compensated as a result of the adoption process.”

Controversy centers on OPMG’s handling of those adoptions and whether they complied with Robby’s Law, a federal law that stipulates a priority for adopting retired dogs to law enforcement agencies, former handlers and the public. Last year, Congress changed the wording and reprioritized that ordering by putting former handlers first in line.

According to an interview with a CBS news affiliate, the U.S. Army reported that members of the OPMG were on site at the 2014 adoption on K2 grounds. Of 229 TEDD dogs active when the contract was closed out; 40 were placed with former handlers; 70 were retained by the Army; and the remaining 119 dogs were made available for adoption.

Six of the dogs adopted that day attracted local interest and outrage when it was discovered they were taken by a Taylortown Police officer. The department had no budget or plans for a K9 unit, and the dogs’ adoption was not sanctioned, according to Taylortown Mayor Ulysses Barrett. One of the dogs remained with former officer Deon Fuller and was later reunited with his former handler after a bitter and public custody battle. The other five dogs remain missing and were apparently given new homes within a week of release from the Army.