Purple Poppies To Honour Service Animals

[mita]

I saw an article in our local paper this morning... our area takes in the Gallipoli Army Base in Brisbane. A soldier with his military dog said that Purple Poppies are available to honour the animals that have served the military & they can be worn alongside the Red Poppy that honours the soldiers on Remembrance Day (which is fast approaching).

He said that Purple Poppies can be bought from the Greencross Vet at Chermside in Brisbane. I phoned the national Greencross Vets & they said the Purple Poppies are available from all Greencross Vets in all States, but in limited number.

I checked the Facebook page of the organisation which is producing them ... Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation. It said that a company Talking Stones has them available online. Details here:

http://talkingstones.com.au/shop/purple-poppy.html

Such a lovely idea & worth supporting. General info here:

http://awamo.org.au/purple-poppy/

Edited November 5, 2014 by mita

[Vehs]

I think that is a fantastic idea, I always get very emotional about military animals... well any service animals really.

eta: hrmm the AWAMO says on their page the the AWM has released purple poppy's but I can't see any official reference to that

http://awamo.org.au/purple-poppy/

Edited November 5, 2014 by Vehs

[mita]

The article in North-West News Brisbane Nov 5, 2014.

'Mates Remembered'.

Louie the Labrador might have a couple of extra legs and a little more hair than most other soldiers, but his work has been just as crucial both at home and overseas.

Louie is one of more than two dozen bomb dogs at Gallipoli Barracks (Enoggera, Brisbane). His best mate, Sapper Jonathan Waite said that on Remembrance Day this year the public could show their support for service animals by buying a special purple poppy ...

"From the last conflict we had, bomb detection dogs have saved dozen of lives... I was a high risk searcher in Afghanistan & having them in front of you when you were searching was just that added security. I see Louie as any other soldier around the base because he's doing just as much work as everyone else.'

The dogs could recognise about 25,000 different combinations of explosives. But despite the long hours, life was one big game for Louie, who was rewarded with a ball and a cuddle for his hard work with his best mate.

Here's the Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation's Facebook page where they mention the Purple Poppies also being available from Talkingstones:

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianWarAnimalMemorialOrganisation

And here's Greencross Vets describing their partnering with that Organisation to make them available:

http://www.greencrossvet.com.au/News/?id=205

Edited November 5, 2014 by mita

[silentchild]

What a great initiative, the contributions of our service animals are often overlooked.

[leec]

Thanks for the information and links. My co-worker and I have just donated and are happily awaiting our purple poppies to wear.

What a fantastic initiative.