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Local teacher adopts military working dog

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dennis L. Sloan
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 87th Security Forces Squadron military working dog department retired Enya, a military veteran of nine years, who was adopted by Taryn Romanczak, Hunderton County Polytech pre-veterinary science high school teacher.

Many military dogs are adopted by their handlers after they retire but in this case, Romanczak heard of Enya because she is on the board of directors for K-9 soldiers, a charity program supporting military dogs and handlers overseas.

"I chose to adopt Enya because I wanted another dog, but a puppy would not have fit in my life right now," said Romanczak. "Enya came about at the right time and I feel that she has served her country proudly and deserves a comfy retirement as a veteran of our country."

Romanczak received help from another member of the board of directors for K-9 soldiers with the adoption process. She was required to fill out an application and participate in a one on one interview with the handler.

"The hardest part of the process was waiting for the phone call that Enya was released and that I could go get her," said Romanczak. "Enya is fitting in very well in my house and with my 5 year old beagle. She isn't too sure about the horses yet, but that is probably a good thing."

Romanczak plans on keeping up with Enya's daily obedience routine as well as keeping her busy working on getting a Novice Obedience title and a Rally Novice title.

Enya served alongside Senior Airman Jason Allaire, 87th SFS military working dog handler, as a patrol narcotics dog, performing duties such as walking patrols, building and vehicle checks as well as continuing obedience training.

"As a handler we do everything for these dogs from bathing to feeding and even making sure they are getting the proper training and exercise everyday,"said Allaire.


The dogs only interact with one handler at a time and can go their entire career with the same handler.

"Military working dogs are our partners in the field," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Knopf, 87th SFS K-9 trainer. "We rely on them as much as they rely upon us to protect each other."

Military working dogs are trained at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas for 120 days where they are then released to different bases around the world. The training doesn't stop after being released to bases and their handlers. Each dog receives a certification level just as all servicemembers do. They receive certification in different areas such as narcotics and bomb detection.