Starving Iraqi police dogs to receive food after plea from Vegas captain

LAS VEGAS - Some 30,000 pounds of dog food is on its way to the Middle East to feed a unit of starving Iraqi canines, after an e-mail sent by a local Army Reserve captain elicited offers to help from across the nation.

Hill's Pet Nutrition has arranged for a continuous, complimentary supply of its Science Diet dog food to be made available at an Army and Air Force Exchange Service site near Baghdad, company official Joyce Waida said Friday.

The food will be used to feed 13 Iraqi Police Academy dogs, along with U.S. military canines in the area.

Offers of help came pouring in after an e-mail sent by Capt. Gabriella Cook, commander of the Army Reserve's 313th Military Police Detachment, was made public. In the e-mail to her friends in Las Vegas, Cook said the unit of explosive-sniffing and attack dogs was starving and forced to eat table scraps and garbage for survival.

"The makers of Science Diet deserve a huge thank you. The better the care and feeding the security dogs of Iraq receive, the better they can do their lifesaving jobs amid the dangers," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who along with Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., had been looking into the situation.

In Las Vegas, the president of a nonprofit group that been collecting donations to provide the Iraqi police dogs with food said she will return all the money she has received.

Judith Ruiz, president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society, said she received calls and e-mails from across the nation as word spread about the hungry Iraqi dogs. An air freight provider had offered to fly donated dog food to Baghdad.

"All across the country the love and compassion for these animals is absolutely extraordinary," Ruiz said. "It's very heartwarming, the emotions and the commitment."