<p>According to war dog organisations, the number of people inquiring about adopting retired military canines has risen dramatically in the days following bin Laden's death.<br />Military dog Cairo had accompanied the elite US Navy Seals unit in the secret and daring raid at bin Laden's compound.<br /><br />Cairo was tasked with tracking anyone who tried to escape from bin Laden's compound and alerting the special operations forces to anyone approaching.<br /><br />Military officials say they have received more than 400 adoption applications in the weeks since the May 2 raid, a report in MSNBC said.<br /><br />According to organisations, earlier, most military dogs were euthanised once their tours of duty were over, but now all the animals find a home and in some cases there is a six-month waiting list for people to adopt a military canine.<br /><br />"They made a really big deal about Cairo being a super dog but all dogs in the military are super dogs," US War Dogs Association president Ron Aiello said in a report.<br />"These dogs are fully trained and are worth probably USD 40,000 to USD 50,000 each at least," he added.<br /><br />The most common breeds of military canines are Belgian Malinois, Dutch shepherd, German shepherd and Labrador retriever.<br /><br />US military dogs retire at the age of 10 and about 300 retired military canines are put up for adoption each year.<br /><br />"They only have a couple of years left, so why not have them spend it with a loving family where they are not going to hear gunfire and explosives go off," said Aiello.<br /><br />Aiello, a dog handler for the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, started his organisation with other former dog handlers to spread awareness about the lives and work of military dogs.<br /><br />A report, released by the US War Dogs Association, said that after the Vietnam War, only 204 of an estimated 4,900 war dogs returned to US.<br /><br />The others were either euthanised, given to the South Vietnamese army or abandoned, it said.<br /><br />After President Bill Clinton signed a law in 2000 allowing military dogs to be adopted, 338 dogs were adopted last year, including 34 that were given to police departments and other government agencies.</p>
<p>According to war dog organisations, the number of people inquiring about adopting retired military canines has risen dramatically in the days following bin Laden's death.<br />Military dog Cairo had accompanied the elite US Navy Seals unit in the secret and daring raid at bin Laden's compound.<br /><br />Cairo was tasked with tracking anyone who tried to escape from bin Laden's compound and alerting the special operations forces to anyone approaching.<br /><br />Military officials say they have received more than 400 adoption applications in the weeks since the May 2 raid, a report in MSNBC said.<br /><br />According to organisations, earlier, most military dogs were euthanised once their tours of duty were over, but now all the animals find a home and in some cases there is a six-month waiting list for people to adopt a military canine.<br /><br />"They made a really big deal about Cairo being a super dog but all dogs in the military are super dogs," US War Dogs Association president Ron Aiello said in a report.<br />"These dogs are fully trained and are worth probably USD 40,000 to USD 50,000 each at least," he added.<br /><br />The most common breeds of military canines are Belgian Malinois, Dutch shepherd, German shepherd and Labrador retriever.<br /><br />US military dogs retire at the age of 10 and about 300 retired military canines are put up for adoption each year.<br /><br />"They only have a couple of years left, so why not have them spend it with a loving family where they are not going to hear gunfire and explosives go off," said Aiello.<br /><br />Aiello, a dog handler for the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, started his organisation with other former dog handlers to spread awareness about the lives and work of military dogs.<br /><br />A report, released by the US War Dogs Association, said that after the Vietnam War, only 204 of an estimated 4,900 war dogs returned to US.<br /><br />The others were either euthanised, given to the South Vietnamese army or abandoned, it said.<br /><br />After President Bill Clinton signed a law in 2000 allowing military dogs to be adopted, 338 dogs were adopted last year, including 34 that were given to police departments and other government agencies.</p>