Thanks to Eric Scheie for the pointer to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about a soldier's dog surviving as a puppy on a military base in Iraq, then through two vehicle crashes plus "animal control" by base leaders, finally to be brought back to the US and to a loving home. Here's a quote of the travails:
Officials at the Kirkuk airfield tolerated Bashur, but life there was still hazardous. Fearing that the dog population was getting out of control, the Air Force began to shoot strays. Bashur's admirers gave her a red collar with an "Airborne" patch, hoping it would spare her from the culling crew's rifles.Vehicles on the hectic base struck Bashur twice, crushing a paw the second time. Fenzel rushed from a briefing at the news and found Bashur on the roadside, her head cradled in a soldier's lap. He picked up the dog that had grown to 60 pounds and hustled her to his room, vowing to keep her if she recovered.
With the help of the unit's medics, Fenzel helped Bashur recuperate, and they became full-time roommates. The two grew so close that Fenzel could interpret her signals: A sudden upward look meant that rockets were about to strike the airfield.
I was wondering if any of my readers had served overseas at one time or another and might like to relate similar stories to us. You can post them in comments or email them to me and I'll put up posts about them.