Recently in iraq Category

Ratchet, the black puppy who was rescued from the streets of Iraq by a U.S. soldier, arrived in Virginia today wearing a red, white and blue bandanna -- and a tail that couldn't stop wagging.

According to an AP story from the Idaho Statesman, Ratchet "jumped out of his crate and wagged his tail at the airport, three flights and two days after leaving Iraq en route to his new home with a U.S. soldier."

Rachet, wearing a dog-bone-shaped collar with his name, will spend two nights in a kennel before flying to Minneapolis where (Army Spc. Gwen) Beberg's parents will pick him up. Beberg (who said she could not have made it through her 13-month deployment without Ratchet) is scheduled to return home from Iraq next month.

"I'm very excited that Ratchet will be waiting for me when I get home from Iraq! Words can't describe it," Beberg said in an e-mail to friends and family. "I hope that Ratchet's story will inspire people to continue the efforts to bring more service members' animals home from Iraq and Afghanistan."

The dog was rescued by Baghdad Pups, run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International. The group, which has now brought 63 animals to the U.S., says the effort both saves dogs and cats and helps soldiers who benefit from the bond with the animals.

 

 

 Ratchet rests after arriving at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. on Monday. Thousands of people were involved in an international effort to help the dog come to the United States.

AP Photo

**** If you like this story, you can now buy T-shirts and other products at a site called

Saving Private Ratchet. Proceeds go to the SPCA. (H/T: Dogster )

 

Previously: Ratchet's going home;   Ratchet bumped to standby;

 

CNN is reporting that the Iraqi dog Ratchet, the subject of our earlier post,  has received clearance to come home with the soldier who rescued him. Ah, but, wouldn't you know it. The dog missed his flight. (Like it hasn't happened to you.)

From the CNN Wire story:

A U.S. soldier's adopted dog missed his flight out of Baghdad Wednesday when his U.S. military clearance to leave Iraq arrived too late, leaving the dog -- and the soldier -- unsure when he might come to the United States.

....................

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, which has been trying to retrieve Ratchet since Oct. 1 ...., said it would make another attempt to bring him to the United States as early as Sunday. 

An Associated Press story today outlines the plight of a soldier and the puppy she rescued (that's the two of them at left).

Sgt. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis was separated from the dog, named "Ratchet," following a recent transfer. She's scheduled to return to the U.S. next month and is pleading with the powers-that-be to let her dog come home, too. "I just want my puppy home," she said.

 

Defense Department rules prohibit soldiers in the U.S. Central command, which includes Iraq, from adopting pets, but exceptions have been made. Operation Baghdad Pups says it has gotten 50 dogs and six cats transferred to the U.S. in the last eight months.

"I'm coping reasonably well because I refuse to believe that Ratchet has been hurt," Beberg wrote in an e-mail to her mother, Patricia Beberg. "If I find out that he was killed, though -- well, we just won't entertain that possibility."

Beberg and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of trash back in May. Operation Baghdad Pups' program coordinator, Terri Crisp, is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday. She said the adopted dogs left behind face death on Iraqi streets.

Last week, Beberg's congressman, Rep. Keith Ellison, wrote to the Army urging it to review the

case. And more than 10,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let Ratchet come home with Beberg to Minnesota.

****UPDATE: Just saw this update from AP  indicating that the Army has confirmed that Ratchet is still alive, so Beberg's fight to bring the dog home with her will continue.

Sgt. Brooke Murphy, a U.S. military spokeswoman, explained that the rule prohibiting soldiers from adopting pets and transporting them home has to do with concerns about health issues.

In June, a dog brought back to the U.S. by Operation Baghdad Pups tested positive for rabies after it was euthanized for other health concerns.

 

Related Posts: Iraqi dogs  Cat Lady of Baghdad; Nubs revisited 

This is Nubs, a wiry German shepherd-border collie mix who got his name because someone cut off his ears as a puppy.

Picking up on an ABC story, Dog Clothes Horse blog posted this week about Nubs who was adopted by Maj. Brian Dennis in Iraq. Dennis took a liking to the animal, one of a pack of desert dogs that lived at one of the Iraqi border forts his unit patrolled. The Marines treated a wound in Nubs' side, caused by a screwdriver, and nursed him back to health.

But when Dennis' unit had to relocate 70 miles from Nubs' home fort, the loyal pup wasn't about to be left behind.

As always, Nubs sprinted alongside the Hummers as they pulled away for what Dennis assumed was the last time he would see the dog. Two days later, Nubs wandered inexplicably in below-freezing conditions into Dennis' new camp, shocking the Marine unit.

"When he arrived he looked like he'd just been through a war zone. Uh, wait a minute, he had," Dennis wrote. Nubs' miraculous journey forced the Marine's hand, and Dennis and his fellow Marines unanimously decided to keep the animal.

"This dog who had been through a lifetime of fighting, war, and abuse had tracked down our team over 70 miles of harsh desert was going to live the good life," Dennis wrote.

 

 

This isn't a new story. Nubs and Dennis were reunited  last March and now live in sunny San Diego. But we figured such an inspirational story was worth revisiting. And we trust that Nubs is, indeed, enjoying the good life.

Nubs is only one of the dogs that has been brought home from Iraq. So this post serves also as a reminder that donations are still being taken for the cause.

Donations to help more of our military personnel bring home dogs that their units have adopted and kept safe from the war can be made to Baghdad Pups -- which also, by the way, has a major local online sponsor, Torrance-based ilovedogs.

 

Related Posts: Iraqi dogs  Cat Lady of Baghdad

Nix the nylon, lose the leather -- if you've got cash to burn on your dog, here's a $1.2 million diamond collar from www.ilovedogs.com.

The Torrance-based Web company touts the "Amour Amour" collar as the "world's most expensive dog collar."

Stunning, one-of-a-kind, we're told, with more than 1,600 hand-set diamonds equalling 52 carats.

But enough about that.

The real mission of i Love Dogs is to foster the bond between owners and their canines. The group is a major sponsor of Operation Baghdad Pups, a program that brings stray dogs befriended by our troops in Iraq back to the states. Josh also posted about the program back in April and you can still donate to the effort by going to www.spca.com and clicking on the "Baghdad Pups" square.

But mainly, iLoveDogs.com offers a unique line of nutritional and herbal supplements designed to keep your dog healthy and happy. "It's all about preventative care," says iLoveDogs General Manager Kimberley Foley.

Kimberley, a local resident, recently appeared on the Lifetime television program Balancing Act where she talked about the importance of pet nutrition.

Cats have a friend in Iraq.

"Louise" -- no last name given -- is a security consultant in Baghdad who has a giant heart for felines. And so she moonlights as something of a one-woman animal rescue unit, finding strays and getting them out of harm's way.

"Some people buy flash cars, others flash clothes," she said in an AP story. "But it's my animals that float my boat."

 

This Associated Press photo by Bradley Brooks shows Tigger, a half-tailed kitten, sitting outside a Green Zone villa in Baghdad in February. He now lives in England.