"Yellow-bellied, sonofabitch coward!"
Posted on 01/12/2007 10:28:32 PM PST by endthematrix
TWO Army sniffer dogs have fallen victim to the Taliban and are shell-shocked.
Golden labrador Max was on patrol with his handler in the Afghan capital Kabul when a suicide bomber struck.
Luckily, the soldiers escaped serious injury, although the bomber was so close they were blown off their feet by the blast.
But Max has been suffering shellshock ever since.
The four-year-old dog is happy around British troops at the sprawling Camp Bastion desert base he currently calls home.
But he is now too frightened to work around local Afghans in traditional dress.
Handlers at the Muttley Lines kennels in Bastion have spent five months trying to rehabilitate him.
However, they are reluctantly pensioning off Max just halfway through his working life.
Sergeant Martin Evans, 39, who cares for dogs at Bastion, said potential owners had a lot to live up to as Max is being "spoilt rotten" by troops at the base.
He added: "Max is a big softy. He is good with children, he is very bouncy, friendly, gets on with other dogs and loves people."
Max is not the only canine casualty recovering at Bastion after serving on the frontline.
Blue, a German shepherd, is also suffering from shell-shock after being mortared while on patrol in the north of Helmand province.
All dogs serving in Afghanistan are taken out on practice ranges to get them used to being under fire.
But Blue had only experienced gunfire and small explosions.
One mortar landed just 30ft away while bullets hit the ground inches from his feet.
He curled into a ball, refusing to move, and troops had to help his handler carry him to safety.
Back at Bastion, Blue seemed his usual self until mortars were used on the range next to his kennel.
He immediately hid at the back of his cage and curled back up into a ball, cowering and shaking.
As a guard dog, trained to attack on command, he cannot be given a new home. So Blue will be sent home to guard bases in the UK.
Sgt Evans added: "He is suffering from what in the old days would have been called shell-shock.
"But Blue will still be able to work on a British base - where you are going to be very unlucky to be mortared."
Man's best friend!
The K-9 hero!
Best luck to the dog. But if we do not stop Islam, he will hear those sound even there.
Poor puppies!
In case you haven't been paying attention the last 25 years Islam is fighting itself, and we've chosen to stand in the middle of it.
Cut the dogs loose and let them run.
That dog is a racist who hates all people who aren't white. We need to send him in to doggie sensitivity training.
(/sarcasm)
You mean the dogs are profiling? Cool!
Er, I mean, bad doggies ... racist doggies ...
You mean the dogs are profiling? Cool!
Er, I mean, bad doggies ... racist doggies ...
Four-legged heroes ping!
Somehow, I don't see General Patton hitting these dogs on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. There's NOT people, who understand what they're doing, and where they are. They're animals who do what they can to make their masters happy.
I say give them the purple heart, and retire them to happy homes (well, that might be tough for the guard dog).
They've done their service. They deserve a comfortable retirement.
Mark
I go with the group who believe he was.
Patton's dog Willie was a notorious coward. But when there was no artillery coming down, he and the General were inseparable. Willie even got to play bad cop when Patton called Bill Mauldin on the carpet.
Really? I don't remember Aisha's age at marriage (9 vs. 16) being a major point of contention for anyone. Of course, I've only read operational accounts of the Tehran thing, and not much background. How did the disputed age of one of the Prophet's wives inspire the storming of the embassy?
What are you talking about? Care to explain?
You can't label this dog a racist. The dog has not disagreed with a liberal yet. Once he does that, it's prima facie evidence and he's automatically considered a racist.
"He curled into a ball, refusing to move, and troops had to help his handler carry him to safety." -- I hope he finds a good home now. And I'm also thinking of what people go thru as they face this.
Agreed, and agreed.
"Yellow-bellied, sonofabitch coward!"
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