Ghost's Story

Nothing historical to report today. So I decided to go with an uplifting story appropriate to the holidays. This website has some very heartening stories of soldiers and the pets they saved during their tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bond between humans and animals seems to be strengthened during wartime, for men (and now women) under fire need a semblance of normalcy, something to remind them of their homes and former lives. For many, this takes the form of dogs and cats, and so it is not surprising that they are willing to ignore regulations and defy the odds to rescue their furry friends. It is a little easier now thanks to organizations like this one. When I read From Baghdad with Love, about a Marine struggling to get the dog he loved out of Iraq to the US, he was on his own and prevailed due only to his own stubbornness, the kindness of others, and sheer luck. He subsequently wrote a second book about his life with his rescued dog once they were back in the States. After discovering that the dog suffered from PTSD, it led him to the realization that he did, too; because he’d been a career soldier, he’d dismissed his symptoms, rationalizing that he’d done too many tours of duty to be affected that way.
Pen Farthing, a British soldier moved to rescue dogs used for fighting in Afghanistan, formed his own rescue society upon his return to England, as you can read about here. These stories of soldiers desperate to save the pets that made life tolerable in a hellish war zone shows yet again that when we help animals in need, we are helping people, too. Can anyone doubt how much a loved dog or cat means to a family who has lost everything they had in Hurricane Sandy? Sadly, critics of such rescue operations never seem to understand that. Anyway, here is the link to some stories that do have happy endings. http://www.sacfund.org/Pages/GhostsSt...