Using Military Working Dog Records to Assist With Exposure-Informed Care

Military working dogs (MWDs) are deployed to and work in the same environments as Service members and, therefore, are exposed to the same hazards. To better understand the potential consequences of military-related exposures on health, the Exposure Science Program, Department of Veterans Affairs partnered with Army Veterinary Services and the Joint Pathology Center to create the Deceased MWD Database (DMWDD). This database includes all MWDs that had completed veterinary records from January 1991 onward, with demographics, deployment information, and pathology findings of 2,922 MWDs.

The DMWDD was searched for records completed between September 11, 2001, and May 18, 2023, with at least one confirmed deployment to Afghanistan (n = 303). Information from these MWDs was collated, including primary pathologic diagnoses and neoplasia in organs, such as lungs, kidneys, brain, pancreas, and liver. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated comparing Afghanistan-deployed MWDs with MWDs with no history of OCONUS deployments or permanent duty stations that died during the study period (n = 621).

Military working dogs that deployed to Afghanistan had 1.55 times the odds of having neoplasia as their primary diagnosis at necropsy versus MWDs that did not leave the United States (95% CI: 1.11, 2.16) in fully adjusted models. Additionally, Afghanistan-deployed MWDs had 1.60 times the odds of having metastatic neoplasia (95% CI: 1.11, 2.30) in their primary diagnosis. At the organ level, Afghanistan-deployed MWDs had increased odds for neoplasia in the liver (OR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.98), lungs (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.43, 3.57), prostate (OR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.28, 7.20), and pancreas (OR = 3.48, 95% CI: 1.41, 8.60).

The current analysis indicates a possible association between deployment to Afghanistan and increased odds of neoplasia in MWDs. These findings are consistent with certain presumptive cancers defined in the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act related to deployments supporting the recent conflicts. Additionally, increased odds were noted for prostate cancer in dogs that deployed to Afghanistan, which may represent an additional condition for which Veterans who deployed to this location should be surveilled since it is not currently service-connected. The DMWDD data will be further interrogated to identify other potential adverse health outcomes for specific service locations, both CONUS and OCONUS. Identifying adverse health outcomes early is of paramount concern, and the DMWDD will generate hypotheses that can direct future research into the long-term health of military cohorts.