by Rosalind S. Helderman

Tokens From the Home Front

Heavy-duty boxes arrive at posts across the Middle East covered in cheery blue paw prints. The military men and women know immediately that the Christmas presents inside are mostly not for them... but for their dogs.

Several hundred military dogs serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, manning (or perhaps dogging) checkpoints and sniffing for bombs, according to military publications. Like their human counterparts, they get killed and wounded.

But because the dogs are considered equipment, the military doesn't provide rope toys, dog beds or big bones to make their lives more enjoyable, said Amy Nichols, founder of Dogtopia Daycare & Spa. That's where her group steps in.

For the second year, volunteers from the company, which used to be called Happy Tails and has locations in Bethesda and Tysons Corner, packaged up hundreds of pounds of treats and toys and mailed them overseas.

"Making the dogs happy makes the troops happy," she said.

The effort has been so popular that the company has started its own charitable wing -- K-9 Support -- to collect donations.

"We'll continue to support military dogs until they all come home," Nichols said.

© The Washington Post 2006