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Nov. 18, 2014: Hudson key to reunion of Army soldier, dog
WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-08) released the following statement after an amendment he helped champion with Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) to give injured servicemembers priority in adopting their military working dogs was added to the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735):
“This problem came to my attention last year when I helped reunite Spc. Brent Grommet and his military working dog Matty who were separated after being wounded overseas. I was fortunate to meet Brent and Matty, and it was clear to me that our war dogs save lives not only on the battlefield, but also here at home.
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson
“The simple fact is, we shouldn’t make our war heroes jump through hoops to adopt their combat companions. This amendment is the solution to make it easier to reunite our servicemembers and their trusted dogs and help honor their special bond.”
After helping to reunite Spc. Brent Grommet and his retired military dog Matty, Hudson worked with LoBiondo to amend Robby’s Law and give injured servicemembers priority in adopting their military working dogs.
Under current law, the Department of Defense is not required to contact a military working dog’s (MWD) previous handlers before the MWD is retired or adopted out. The language in the NDAA will now require that the Department of Defense contact the servicemembers in the order that they handled the MWD to ask if they would like to adopt the MWD. To read the amendment, click here.
Last November, Hudson joined Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren on “On the Record” to discuss his role in helping reunite Grommet and Matty. Click here to see the clip.
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