Veteran's Day is a day to honor the sacrifice and service of military veterans. Many have given selflessly - and continue to do so, primarily with troops deployed currently in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Although humans are what come to mind when envisioning veterans and active military personnel, their canine counterparts are as valued and hold a unique role in history and in current duty. Read about one war hero, Chips, who was at one point awarded a Silver Star for valor and a Purple Heart for his wounds.

Military Working Dogs have been used by the United States Military since World War I, when American families graciously donated their dogs to be trained and assist during wartime. Working alongside their expert handlers, they have worked and filled roles such as booby trap/mine detection, sentry, combat tracker teams and mine tunnel dog teams.

Today, the breeds that comprise the vast majority of Military Working Dogs are Belgian Malinois, German and Dutch shepherds - and in active duty, they number in the thousands, with 200 or so serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as patrol dogs and explosives and drug detectors. About 2,000 more working dogs provide similar services at U.S. bases and operating posts around the world.

In peacetime, they assist their human counterparts in drug intervention along the United States' southern borders and work as drug detector and explosive detector dogs with the Secret Service.

To learn more about the history and lives of these canines, watch the film War Dogs of the Pacific or read Nicole Arbelo's book, K-9 Heroes. Published in 2009, it tells the stories of lives of Military Working Dogs told by their handlers and includes over 100 photographs.

Lorrie Shaw is a regular pets contributor for AnnArbor.com and wrote the popular blog post, "The Bucket List for Pets" She is also owner of Professional Pet Sitting, providing pet sitting services and dog walking. She welcomes your contact by e-mail.