McNeal Elementary students meet four-legged heroes

When Michelle Dubendorf was a child, she was fascinated by photos of her father with a friend she had never met.

In the photos, her father, John Hallman, stood proudly beside a German shepherd in the faded-out background of Vietnam in the 1960s.

He was a U.S. Army soldier and the dog's handler.

They were a team.

“He never talked about his time in the military,” Dubendorf said. “He was always very quiet about it.”

Now a fifth-grade teacher at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary, Dubendorf is finding ways to honor service dogs. In December, her class, and Stephen Pippin’s fifth-graders, collected more than 50 rubber Kong toys and shipped them to dogs serving with the military overseas.

The classes partnered with East County-based Warrior Dogs Care Package Project, which launched Sept. 11, 2015. Dubendorf plans to expand that relationship next school year by participating in more fundraising events and collecting more supplies.

By working with the organization’s founder, Amy Trytek, local students also wrote letters and drew pictures of appreciation to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office for their working putting together the K9 Unit.

In response, six K9 Unit dogs and their handlers showed off obedience tricks for the students March 15 at McNeal Elementary.

“Those dogs are heroes, too,” said fifth-grader Ryan Hanson, who was watching the dogs respond to orders from their handlers.

The dogs, mostly German Shepherds, played Tug of War with their handlers and patiently waited for their next command, which deputies give in Czech, Dutch or German languages.

Because many of the dogs are obtained from foreign countries, such as Germany, the dogs respond to commands in the language of their home country. 

Dubendorf hopes the hour-long display gave her students a better understanding of the importance of the dogs’ roles in finding criminals, searching for drugs and other tasks.

 “They are an important part of the team — a vital part of the team,” handler Mike Gerholdt said. “It would take a lot of manpower to provide the service they provide just with their noses. And they’re fun. My dog, Boey, is very energetic. He’s almost 6 years old, but he’s definitely still a puppy. It’s great for the children to be able to see him and what he does.”