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Align Orthodontics patients raise $926.50 for MWDTSA

This photo shows the Align Orthodontics staff, including Dr. Colletti, along with wooden moose mascot Justin Timbertooth and guest RMWD Falco.

For over six months, the kids at Align Orthodontics donated their prized wooden nickels to MWDTSA. The tally is in, and these Colorado kids rock! Their $926.50 contribution helped fund MWDTSA’s Q1-2018 care packages. With this money, we purchased toothpaste for the dogs and Cocomel candies for the handlers.

Wearing rubber bands, head gear or retainer as prescribed?

Align’s wooden nickel program promotes good oral hygiene and compliance with orthodontic instructions. At each visit, patients earn nickels based on how well they’ve cared for their teeth and braces. With 20 nickels, patients can “shop” at an Align “store” that offers Lego sets, gift cards, and other coveted merchandise.

Many patients, however, chose to deposit their nickels in an MWDTSA donation jar at the front desk. For each of the 1,853 wooden nickels contributed by patients, Align Orthodontics provided 50 cents toward our Q1 2018 care packages! To put the kids’ sacrifice in perspective, their nickels could have purchased 92 Lego sets at the Align store.

The Meltzer family represented Align Orthodontics patient families at MWDTSA’s Q1-2018 packing event, February 11, 2018. Meltzer relatives served in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. “Helping MWDTSA lets us give back to the men, women, and four-legged heroes that protect our country,” says Michele Meltzer. (Photo courtesy of Meltzer family)

Additionally, a patient’s family stepped forward to volunteer countless hours to help MWDTSA with pre-packing activities. The Meltzer’s neatly folded 200 t-shirts and placed items that might leak into Ziploc bags. They and Align associate Megan Lentfer joined the packing team to assemble nearly 200 boxes on Sunday, February 11.

Align Orthodontics military ties

Align Orthodontics has a deep reverence for the military and the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women. Dr. Laurence Colletti, owner of the practice, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975. As a USAFA cadet, he was interested in dentistry AND being a pilot. However, the Air Force was not sending any graduates to dental school. So, he had to decide between staying in the Air Force and becoming a pilot, or pursuing dental school on his own. Taking this decision very seriously, he decided to play himself in a game of racquetball. Becoming a pilot won. During active duty, he flew as a T-38/KC 135 Pilot and Wing Flight Safety Officer and really enjoyed his time in the sky. “Where else in the world,” he asks, “can a 21-year-old be trusted with a multi-million dollar piece of equipment?”

After 6 years of flying, however, the dental desire returned. He decided to enter the Army Reserves as a Medical and Dental Officer so he could start dental school as a civilian. In this capacity, he was activated for Desert Storm. Altogether, he served in the military for 20.5 years before retiring.

Dr. Colletti isn’t the only person at Align with military connections. Orthodontic Assistant Sylvia Cage’s daughter served four years and son-in-law served 20 years in the Air Force. Megan Lentfer’s sister and brother-in-law are active duty Navy. Her cousin is an active duty Marine.

Many thanks to Align Orthodontics for your enthusiastic support. It’s donors like you and your patients who make our quarterly care packages possible, and we really appreciate you!

Is your group interested in raising money for MWDTSA care packages? To learn more about MWDTSA’s needs, contact Nikki Rohrig at president@MWDTSA.org or visit https://www.mwdtsa.org/.

Photo credit: Shelli Patty. Align Orthodontics office staff with RMWD Falco. From left to right, bottom row: Dr. Laurence Colletti, moose mascot Justin Timbertooth, Sylvia Cage; top row: Amanda Evans, Megan Lentfer. Not pictured: Laurie Hoff.

 

Malinois: Max and More

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Kimba, a Belgian malinois military working dog assigned to the 673d Air Base Wing Security Forces Squadron, runs toward an aggressor during a training session on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Aug. 26, 2013. Security Forces Airmen continually train with their K9 counterparts to keep their teams flexible to respond to law enforcement emergencies, and for overseas deployments. (U.S. Air Force photo/Justin Connaher)

malinois-biting-training-mit

Max and More

You’ve seen the movie, Max, and are awed at the capabilities of military working dogs and maybe Belgian malinois, in particular. You’re thinking about adopting a military working dog or adding a malinois to your family because they seem like such amazing dogs. Here are some things that you should know before you start your journey looking for a new family member.

Malinois training with handlerMalinois are often called maligators, for a reason, by those who know and love them. This is a brilliant breed for working and especially for hard hitting, high energy work, like military or police work. They are not, in general, a good companion breed and certainly not a dog that you can ignore and stick out in the back yard. Some people says malinois is French for “Don’t Get One”, at least if you are not an experienced owner and don’t plan to spend hours daily working with your dog.

These dogs require a serious job and if they don’t have a job, they will find one. Their job description may include things such as: shred the couch, chew the door off the hinges, rip up the carpet – which is probably more in line with a demolition crew than the pet you thought you were bringing home.

This is not to say these dogs aren’t brilliant, they are. But, they are high drive, active and require a dedicated, experienced owner who is committed to their education, which means that being away significant amounts of the day, doesn’t work well for this breed. If you find a breeder who is content with selling a dog to a novice without asking tons of questions, s/he’s not the breeder for you. Ethical breeders will want to be sure their high drive dogs go to a working home that is a perfect match.

Those who love malinois are concerned that people will ignore the realities of malinois ownership and buy one anyway. If you are still thinking about adding this breed to your home, please do enough research to answer your questions. Here is a good link.

http://www.malinoisclub.com/abmc/about-the-malinois/is-the-malinois-right-for-you

Many malinois end up in rescue because they are not what the novice owner thought they were getting. If you’re interested in a rescue malinois, check out this link:

http://www.malinoisrescue.org/

And, if you’re interested in adopting a retired military working dog, please go directly to the source at Lackland AFB. The dog disposition unit is at Lackland and they coordinate all of the adoptions- so please don’t call individual kennels and interrupt their important training. There is no fee for adopting a retired dog, but you are responsible for transport and healthcare. This is the easiest way to get your name on a list. You can begin the adoption process by completing and submitting the required paperwork application at this link:

http://www.37trw.af.mil/units/37traininggroup/341sttrainingsquadron/index.asp

Thanks to the DoD for the images.

Go NAVY!

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jeremy Aldrich, attached to Naval Security Force, K-9 Unit, and his military working dog Tyson.

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jeremy Aldrich, attached to Naval Security Force, K-9 Unit, and his military working dog Tyson a four-year-old Blue Belgium Malanois, take a little break for some fun at the obstacle course on base. Aldrich has worked with Tyson for 18 months in support the base mission in providing security to the base and the Mina Salman pier.  (This is an older photo, but wanted to share because I like it so much and wanted to shout out to the handler!)

U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer A. Villalovos