Hero Dog Reunited with Soldier
As soldiers were sleeping in a remote base in Afghanistan on February 22, a suicide bomber was sneaking up on foot. As he drew closer to the base, barking pierced the quiet night as three dogs came running at him.
The first, Rufus, bit the terrorist, while the other two, Target and Sasha, looked on, barking wildly. The 50 soldiers inside the base tried shouting to the dogs in an attempt to quiet them down, not aware of the danger that lurked so close. As the dogs continued to bark, the bomber prematurely detonated the 24 pounds of C4 explosives before he could get through the door, killing himself. Rufus and Target were seriously injured, Sasha unfortunately died.
Duke, a National Guardsman who was in the base when the bomb exploded was wounded by shrapnel and is now adopting Rufus. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that the dogs saved my life,” he said. Five other soldiers were wounded by the blast. Duke was eventually able to return to the base and was able to nurse Rufus back to health.
The two were inseparable. When Duke was homesick, Rufus was there to brighten his day. When Duke has to stand watch, Rufus was right there at his feet to help.
After returning to the States, Duke was sadly unsure if he would ever be able to see Rufus again. That’s where Robert Misseri comes in. Robert is the operator of Robert’s Cause, an animal advocacy group. He feels that the dogs and soldiers bonded in the same war-torn area and they deserve to be together once it’s all over. Anna Canaan is another person involved in a similar cause and she runs the Puppy Mission Rescue, which can be found on Facebook. Between the two groups, Rufus will be coming to his new home with Duke and his family. By way of Manhattan, Rufus will then travel to Georgia to happily live out his days with Duke, his wife, and their soon-to-be new baby. Target, the other canine survivor of the blast, is being flown to Arizona to live with the medic that saved her life.
Hug your dogs, people.
To read the original article, please go to http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/international/dog_gets_his_day_haMOgDHiJOYZ3sFg3n0iBM