BATON ROUGE — A military working dog who has worked Secret Service missions and sniffed out bombs in Iraq recently received life-saving care at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Astra, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, was airlifted in a Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Polk to the LSU Vet School on Dec. 10 with a high heart rate, dehydration and nausea. LSU veterinarians diagnosed her with Addison's disease, which can affect both dogs and humans.

The school said that because military dog handlers are required to stay with their dogs at all times, Sgt. Pierce Getner and Sgt. David Tatterson drove in from Fort Polk to be at Astra's side and even slept in her kennel as she recovered. 

“We ask a lot of these dogs. Astra was in a bomb shelter for a whole month during hostile fire while deployed in Iraq for nine months. She’s been deployed more than most MWDs, and it’d be hard to imagine her putting in all of that work and not get to reap the rewards of her efforts. We want to see Astra retire, relax, and enjoy life knowing she did a good job. We want the best for her,” said Getner, who handles a different military working dog.

Astra was discharged from the Veterinary School on Dec. 12 and is expected to make a full recovery. She was treated by doctors Jack Lee, Leslie Serrano, Gregor Boot and Patty Lathan.

“Astra should have a good quality of life for the rest of her days,” Dr. Lathan said. 

The vet school said Astra will retire pending an evaluation. The animals have a life span of 13-14 years.