RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — H.R. 918 also known as the Sgt. Fieldy Act was reintroduced into Congress on Wednesday, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.
The bill would allow military working dogs to be buried in national and certain state veteran cemeteries and has bipartisan support.
“Military working dogs have saved countless lives by detecting explosives and leading search and rescue missions. It is time they are honored as the heroes they are,” said Gonzalez. “The story of Cpl. Caceres and Sgt. Fieldy is one of many across the nation and shows that the bond between a soldier and their working dog is unlike any other. I am proud to introduce Sgt. Fieldy Act named after Sgt. Fieldy, a South Texas hero.”
The bill is in honor of Sgt. Fieldy, who served three tours in Afghanistan and now lives in South Texas with his handler U.S. Marine Corps Corporal, Nicolas Caceres.
While deployed, Sgt. Fieldy detected several explosives and saved many lives. In 2016, he received the K-9 Medal of Courage Award on Capitol Hill. In 2018, he was selected as the Military Hero Dog in the Hero Dog Awards.
Cpl. Caceres was recently informed that Sgt. Fieldy, now 15 years old, is unable to be buried in the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission.
Read H.R. 918 for information.
