A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....07-16-03....Every Day...."Fluffy...A Military Dog Story"

AP VIA News Observer; Dutchess; Billie | June 28, 2003 | Jay Cohen

[dutchess]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

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~ Billie, Mama_bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine

How precious we "creatures" great and small are. We have a special story to share today of a military pet and his owner. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did. God bless our military family.

"From scruffy to Fluffy, dog of war finds loving home in USA" AP via News Observer, June 28, 2003, Jay Cohen

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - They met in northern Iraq under the most trying ofcircumstances. Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell Joyce and his unit needed a guard dog. A scruffy, rail-thin German shepherd needed a home. Though most of the soldiers in the Special Forces unit thought the dog looked too frail, Joyce felt it deserved a chance. He fed it, trained it and, almost as a joke, named it Fluffy. Through it all, man and dog forged a commitment that lasted through war and government red tape, and all the way back to a reunion and a new home in North Carolina.

"What makes this dog so great is, look at the irony," Joyce said. "We took this dog from Iraq, we trained it and we used it for our own security."

Joyce got Fluffy out of necessity. His unit, 3rd Group, Special Forces, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, used a dog to ward off intruders when stationed in Afghanistan and wanted another in Iraq. In March, they asked Kurdish soldiers in the area to search the streets for a suitable stray.

The Kurds came back with a gaunt German shepherd with scars on his head and legs, and missing several teeth.

"When we got him he was pretty thin. He didn't have much pep in his step and he was pretty scared," Joyce said. "He literally didn't move for a day."

Because Joyce didn't have any dog food, he fed the dog mutton, chicken and rice out of his hand. He taught the dog basic commands like heel and sit, and how to walk as a sentry dog - stay on the left side and near the handler.

Within a couple of weeks, Joyce and his fellow soldiers noticed the dog was becoming agressive to outsiders. At one point, Fluffy chased a Kurdish soldier over a fence, tearing off his pants.

"It definitely looked after us," he said. "If any American went to walk guard, meaning walk patrol, he would go right to their left side and he would stand right by them."

Joyce and Fluffy worked together until he returned home from Iraq on May 10. But the dog wasn't allowed to go along because he hadn't come from the United States with the troops.

What's more, Fluffy would be euthanized unless Joyce could find him a good home in Iraq or some way to bring the dog back with him.

Fluffy stayed with the 506th Security Forces Squadron in Iraq while Joyce started his anxious campaign at Fort Bragg.

Joyce began with e-mails and calls to the State Department, U.S. War Dogs Association President Ron Aiello and Monty Moore, a former Vietnam dog handler who runs a Web page dedicated to war dogs.

"What I heard in his voice was something I had heard hundreds of times from former military handlers from the Vietnam era who talk about their canines to this day and the love and devotion we have for them," Aiello said. "Russell had that same emotion about Fluffy."

Aiello wrote Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and set up a page in Fluffy's honor on his Web site.

Within days, Joyce had received over 1,500 e-mails inquiring about the situation. More than 32 U.S. senators also contacted him, asking what they could do to help.

By the time Joyce called Fluffy's caretakers in Iraq to tell them the machinery was in motion to bring the dog home, the Pentagon had already contacted the squadron to ask about Fluffy.

And the military found a way to gently bend its own guidelines to allow for Fluffy's transfer - it designated him an honorary working military dog with honorary war dog status.

Don Stump, an Army deputy division chief in Washington D.C., helped slice through the remaining red tape. Nearly 30 people in the military hierarchy had to sign off on the transfer and bring a successful end to what supporters called "Operation Free Fluffy."

"It stirred me up when I thought about the selfless action and courage of Fluffy," Stump said.

The Army footed the $274 to fly Fluffy to North Carolina, where Joyce was reunited with the German shepherd June 7.

The dog has won over his children, Sam, 12, and Elise, 6, and his wife, Caroline,

"He's doing great here," Joyce said. "He plays with my kids and he's not shown any aggressive behavior. We're working to deprogram him."

Caroline Joyce thought her husband was joking when he first broached the subject of bringing the dog home. Though she and the dog have become friends, it's clear who Fluffy loves most.

"The dog is fine with me but if my husband is around he doesn't want to have anything to do with me," Caroline Joyce said. "He just walks beside my husband and gazes at him all the time."

On a recent summer day, Fluffy circled nervously, whimpering while Joyce ducked into an office building. Once Joyce emerged from the side of a building, Fluffy leaped in the air.

"I see you," Joyce said with a grin as he moved closer to pet the dog on the head. "He really has a tough time because we were together the whole time when we were over there."

With Fluffy dutifully in tow, Joyce has no regrets.

"I don't label him as a pet," he said. "I label him as a buddy."

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 07-14-03...Military Monday 07-15-03..."Tagline Contest"

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

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[Billie]

Morning! Coffee and donuts and biscuits and gravy are here! I'm kinda partial to that purple cup of the Mayor's, but I'll have a chocolate donut there, after I finish the biscuit and gravy, of course. :)

[dutchess]

Hi Molly. Great to see you. Thanks for pinging our canine friends. I just loved this story when I found it.

[Calpernia]

Dutchess! What a GREAT Story! Bump!

Under Saddam he only knows fear. Fear can be a great motivator but after you've lived with fear Hope can be an even greater motivator. America provides Hope and he really knows nothing about America, except he knows what is most important about America. America provides Hope. Ernie De Bella, April 2003

[dutchess]

((((((((dansy))))))))

[dutchess]

Rescues are soooo grateful. Take it from my little rescue! ;-)

I didn't realize Chelsea was "rescued". Gizmo was dumped...and "found us". They are gifts from God aren't they?

[dutchess]

Ah...love your coffee cup...I need high volume caffeine today!

PS Love your tag line. Have to remember that!

[dutchess]

Awe...poor Daisy...but I bet this is harder on "mom" than her. I'm sure she'll get lots of lovin' when she gets home.

[Calpernia]

Now that you pointed it out...I just sat back and realized, I never got any of my 4 footed creatures either. Even the ones that aren't with us any more (passed on).

I currently have two dogs and three cats. All found/rescued with stories.

Really are gifts, huh?

[dutchess]

Hi Billie. You're here early and I'm here late. Posted and "crashed" this morning...Knock on wood our power problems are over...the poor utility guys last night...it was almost like a "block party" of angry neighbors watching their every step as they tried to find the problem!

[Billie]

Hi, Molly - we are always glad to see you back at the Finest. Yesterday was a hoot - Free had a tagline contest, and really saw some cute and interesting taglines. :)

[dutchess]

Thanks Cal...um...you have some found/rescue stories huh??? Giz might just have to pay a visit!

[Billie]

Good morning, Dansy, and the rest of my Finest Sistahs! Love these sweet doggie stories!

[Aquamarine]

I'm sure she'll get lots of lovin' when she gets home.

I'm going to get a bucket of chicken before I pick her up later. Bet she'll eat half of it (deboned, of course). :)

[Billie]

Good morning, ru and Chelsey!

[Billie]

Hi, Cal - just love our pet stories here every week!

[Aquamarine]

I found this story while doing a little research the other day.

Thought it may interest you Lady.

Taking Flight
Taking flight How the "dropouts from Dayton" changed the world forever. One hundred years ago, Wilbur and Orville Wright took a leap into the unknown.

[dutchess]

God Bless Our Military
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Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Mama_Bear; Dansangel; Dutchess; Aquamarine; and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~

We ask Lord, that You guide the leaders of our great country in their hour of decision. The burden that has been placed on their shoulders is overwhelming. We ask that with Your infinite wisdom You guide them gently to the right decisions.

Please give us the strength, Lord, to get through each difficult and devastating day that faces each of us and our country. Protect and guide our Military that are now being called to duty, strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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OhioWfan........................son mystery-ak..........son, husband Gogrammy................grandson Inspectorette...................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew anniegetyourgun...........nephew Pippin....niece,nephew,loved one Doug from Upland......son-in-law weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater..........cousin WaterDragon..son-in-law,grandson BeforeISleep...................son BeAllYouCan Be............son Tiffee4Bob............boyfriend The Mayor.................niece consort...2 daughters, son-in-law Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne.........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty LongCut..................active duty Trish.......................active duty bkwells..................active duty

Maigrey................cousin ladtx....................2 sons Mama_Bear...........nephew gator girl............husband severa................husband MozartLover......son, nephew LBGA........................son SpookBrat...........nephew Himyar.....................son boxerblues............2 sons the piper...................son sheeza...............husband kemathen7...........husband Diver Dave................niece deadhead................cousin JimRobinson.....2 nephews Armymarinemom.....3 sons kneezles...................son Darheel..................niece dixiesass..............nephew LadyX..............grandson AgThorn................2 sons valerieUSA............2 sons

[ST.LOUIE1]

Morning, dutchess, heartwarming story. : )

[ST.LOUIE1]

Good morning, (((((wolfette)))))). : )

[Calpernia]

Giz may visit at anytime!