In 2003, my husband was stationed near Afghanistan. It was just 2 years after 9/11 and U.S. operations were really just beginning there. While there my husband took up with this dog... the sweetie in the photos above. That's hubby's feet in the bottom photo, illustrating that where he went... the dog went also. As you can also see the dog, possibly a Saluki or Afghan Hound, had been displaced by war and was starving. But as the dog tags also illustrate, U.S. servicemen and women took up the care of this suffering animal and tried to give it a better life. Now there are a few organizations in place that will bring home a pet from the war zone and why not? The morale boosting therapy that a pet can provide is better than a thousand therapists and we owe them for that!
My husband wanted to bring this dog home so badly but at the time had no way to do it. He was a C-130 Flight Engineer and considered just stowing the dog away in the cockpit but....
But I know that this dog received all the care and love in the world after my husband's departure. Many loved it and took up the dog's care. And hopefully, it is now in an American home, fat and healthy and warm. I am eternally grateful to this lovely animal for the care and affection it gave my husband while he was so far from home.
My dad befriended a spaniel type dog while he was in Korea. He wouldn't talk about anything to us, but how much he loved that dog, and how much he appreciated its comfort. He was lucky, he was able to bring the dog to Germany with him. From there he wasn't able to bring it home, but was able to find an American sergeant stationed there who took it for him. He carried a photo of that dog in his wallet.
ReplyDeleteSam's Mom