All right fine! Honza Bear is a dog and can’t be our next President……..though I think he would look fantastic in the oval office!

Then how about we nominate Specialized Search Dog Honza “Bear” for the American Humane Society Hero Dog competition?

DONE!

Yep, Honza Bear is going to rock the 2013 Hero Dog competition but he needs your support!

I had lunch with U.S. Army Sergeant John Nolan yesterday and he told me a great story. When he received his bronze star right before redeploying from Afghanistan he ripped it off his own chest and placed it on his military working dog, Specialized Search Dog Honza “Bear”.

He told me that Honza Bear had done all the work, he’s the one that found all those Improvised Explosives…….Honza Bear is the reason John Nolan and many … Read More »

Note: This is part four of the story. You may want to read Part III or skip back to Part I before reading this piece

Once outcast and shunned from the military dog community, U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Sandoval had gotten a second chance.

He was accepted into Fort Bragg’s dog kennels unconditionally. When his newborn son Carter was born with meconium in his lungs making the baby’s oxygen level very low just weeks before Daniel and Military Working Dog Bony were supposed to attend certification, Daniel was given no choice.

His leadership ordered him to the Neo-Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital to be with his family.

Team certification and his deployment could wait.

But now it was a two months later, Carter was doing well, and his wife Sabrina had a handle on things on the home front.

Well, the truth … Read More »

I happened upon the photo above on Twitter from a kind Canadien chap. This is an absolute heart melting photo!

Thanks for sharing Dave……..his caption was, ”Tracer, Trooper & Trigger … Handler Sergeant J. White, CD”

I simply loved it and had to share!

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Completely changing gears here, I wanted to let you all know about a new book coming out that I’m very interested in reading entitled, Breaking Iraq – The Ten Mistakes That Broke Iraq.

The book will be released on March 19, the 10th Anniversary of the war in Iraq and was written by Colonel (Retired) Ted Spain and Terry D. Turchie, a former Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI.

Colonel Spain commanded the 18th Military Police Brigade during the ground war and subsequent occupation of Iraq. I served in this brigade with Colonel Spain. He is … Read More »

This Part VI of John and Honza Bear. If you haven’t already…..you may wish to read Part V or skip back to Part I  prior to reading this one.

U.S. Army Sergeant John Nolan’s eyes were closed. It was 3:00 AM and he should have been sleeping soundly.

But he wasn’t.

The wind was whipping outside. He could feel it against his face as it found its way through the mud and mortar walls hut that had probably once been an Afghan person’s home.

Whether they were dead or in Pakistan, he didn’t know. All he knew was they were long gone, and he was at least partially protected from the wind and snow.

That was exactly why he had grown his beard.  It wasn’t the freezing temperatures or snow—rather it was the wind that sent chills through his body. And of course … Read More »

All right, time for the final chapter of Marc and Anax! Take out your kleenex now and get ready.

But first……

In my recent post, Thanking a Veteran, I told you the story of Kim Edelheiser at Orchard Creek Labradors who gifted a wounded veteran with a new Labrador Retriever puppy. I thought someone might like to know that Kim does have one female puppy still available for sale.

If interested you can contact her at the Orchard Creek Labrador Facebook Page.

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This is Part VIII of this story. You may wish to skip back to Part I to start reading this dramatic story from the beginning.

Army Specialist Marc Whittaker’s eyes shot open when he heard the vibrating.  He rolled over and felt for his phone on the night stand.

Nothing good ever happens after midnight. That was what his mom had … Read More »

We have lost another American War Hero. 

U.S. Army Specialized Search Dog Gabe (retired) took his last breath on February 13th 2013, at 12:44 P.M.  Gabe’s best friends and explosive finding partner, Sergeant First Class Chuck Shuck, comforted Gabe to the end.

Early this week, Gabe woke up and didn’t want to eat his breakfast, within hours it was evident there was something gravely wrong. Chuck rushed him to the hospital where his condition worsened rapidly, and eventually veterinarians discovered Gabe had internal bleeding. They soon realized that Gabe had cancer in his liver and spleen.

Here is a message directly from Chuck, “Gabe Nation….Thank you for being there in my time of need. Gabe never truly recovered from last night and his liver and spleen were so full of cancer. I could have opted for more transfusions and plasma and chemo, but I saw the pain in my… boy’s eyes. … Read More »