Died 4\/2\/20
\nHandler – Staff Sgt. Benjamin Tanner<\/p>\n
Team Hill bids farewell to MWD Bak<\/p>\n
Hill Air Force Base recently lost a valued member of its team, as Military Working Dog Bak passed away following a battle with cancer. MWD Bak, an all-black German shepherd, worked at Hill for 8.5 years as an explosives detection canine. He died April 2 from canine hemangiosarcoma, a form of malignant cancer that arises from the cells that line blood vessels of various tissues of the body.The canine, who was nearly 12 years old when he died, started his career with the General Services Administration before moving to the Department of Defense in 2011. He went on one deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Benjamin Tanner, the dog\u2019s last handler at Hill, said he enjoyed working with MWD Bak and will miss him.\u201cBak had a very infectious personality and didn\u2019t really act like an MWD,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cHe was very hard working, but also happy all the time and enjoyed playing fetch and tug. He was my best frie and was always there to pick me up when I was down and having a bad day.\u201dTanner said Bak had \u201cthe best nose in the kennel,\u201d as his detection numbers were the highest among Hill\u2019s explosives detection dogs. Staff Sgt. Nicholas Wiggin, th Security Forces kennel master, said due to the dog\u2019s age, Bak stopped working in December and was in the process of retirement. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes it especially difficult,\u201d Wiggin said. \u201cBak was in the adoption process and was getting ready to go lay on couch somewhere, eating human food and enjoying a carefree life.\u201d Due to the current restrictions on gatherings, a memorial is being postponed. There will be a \u201cfinal call\u201d by dispatch over the radio on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 4\/2\/20 Handler – Staff Sgt. Benjamin Tanner Team Hill bids farewell to MWD Bak Hill Air Force Base recently lost a valued member of its team, as Military Working Dog Bak passed away following a battle with cancer. MWD Bak, an all-black German shepherd, worked at Hill for 8.5 years as an explosives detection …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,21],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-8499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","category-military","tag-ut"],"yoast_head":"\n