Security Forces say good-bye to K-9 pal

Airmen with the 92nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog section pose with Eesau in front of the working dog memorial at their training facility here on May 12, 2010. Eesau was almost 10 years old and had been deployed to Southwest Asia four times. It had been rumored that Eeasu would often lull his handlers into believing he wouldn't search for hidden explosives when really he was just trying to suprise them, knowing where they were all along, according to Master Sgt. Chuck Wilds. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Chad Watkins)

Security Forces say good-bye to K-9 pal

Published May 26, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Chad Watkins
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash -- The 92nd Security Forces Squadron lost one of its military working dogs to congenital heart failure May 13.
Eesau, perhaps Team Fairchild's most well known canine, lived up his last day with the help of Master Sgt. Chuck Wilds, NCO-in-charge of the MWD section, and the rest of the office.
"We went out and bought him a couple of T-bones, the vet got him a burger from McDonald's, and we basically let him run free around the yard and play with us all day," said Sergeant Wilds.
Eesau was born June 2, 2000, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, specifically bred to be a military working dog. After completing all of his training, he was assigned to Fairchild in July 2002. During his career, Eesau worked with eight different handlers, but it was noted by Sergeant Wilds that Eesau needed the right handler to perform at his peak efficiency.
"Eesau didn't always mesh well with his handlers. By far his favorite handler was Staff Sgt. Joshua Farnswoth." said Sergeant Wilds.
Senior Airman Phillip Lanzo, Eesau's final handler, said "Everyone at the shop knew that Farnsworth was Eesau's handler, and that Eesau was Farnsworth's dog."
The late Sergeant Farnsworth and Eesau worked together from April 2004 until July 2007. They were in Fallujah together from May to November 2004 as part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Division, during the first and second battle of Fallujah. They discovered nine separate caches of explosives and weapons while under constant fire from hostile forces, said Sergeant Wilds.
Even at Fairchild, the pair worked well together, helping to capture a robbery suspect by flushing him out of hiding in 2005.
Also among Eesau's accomplishments were protecting the President, Vice President, and the U.N. General Assembly, the latter of which he responded to a bomb threat at.
"My last order to Eesau before he passed was to find Josh when he reached the other side," said Wilds, "They were always better together."