Every dog has its day. Now, thanks to a generous donation from the Marine Veterans of the Military Order of Devil Dogs, Pound 230, Spring Hill Pack, many dogs in need across Hernando County will see better and brighter days ahead.
The Devil Dogs came together to purchase 638 pounds of dog food, which they divided up and distributed equally between animals served at the SPCA Shelter on Grant Street, SPCA Shelter on Wiscon Road, and Hernando County Animal Services on Oliver Street, all in Brooksville.
“This is all about dogs helping dogs,” said Chuck Sarges, Spring Hill Pack spokesman. This marks the first time that the Spring Hill Pack has conducted a giving effort in support of our four-legged friends. “I have been a Devil Dog for 18 years and cannot remember at any time contributing to any Shelters,” said Sarges. “This is the first time, but not the last.”
Sarges sees this project as claiming an important place in the history and mission of the Devil Dogs, which has established a true and clear legacy of giving across Hernando County. “We are embracing our mission statement and that of the Marine Corps League, which is to support the community in which we have our venue,” he said.
Enacting their role as proud Marines, the Devil Dogs are committed to serving. “All of us Devil Dogs are also members of the Marine Corps League, which is mandatory for membership, so we are also very much involved in all of the programs that the League does,” said Sarges. “Several being the Marine Corps ‘Toys for Tots’ program, scholarship programs for local high schools, Veterans who have fallen on hard times, and so many others.”
The Devil Dogs claim their foundations in a proud tradition of service to their country, one that can be traced all the way back to World War I. “The Military Order of the Devil Dogs was founded by Marines and chartered several years after World War I. Our name comes from World War I, where the Fifth and Sixth Marine Regiments earned the title Teufelhunde, or Dogs of the Devil, from the Germans during the fierce fighting in Belleau Wood, France, 1918,” Sarges explained. “The Military Honor of the Devil Dogs is the Fun and Honor Society of the Marine Corps League. Our Growls (meetings) are held every three months at Marine Corps League Detachment 708, 8405 Sunshine Grove Road, Brooksville, FL.”
In the future, the Devil Dogs fully intend to keep on growling and giving! “We are planning other projects for the future that will benefit our community and local veterans. Our goal is to get our name out there because, in the past, we have more or less been in the background,” said Sarges. “It is time for our MODD to let it be known that Devil Dog Pound 230 is a subsidiary of the Marine Corps League, and it’s time to go public.”
