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

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ 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!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Billie]

Isn't The Finest blessed with some really great regulars?

We are blessed at the Finest, Maggie, and it's such a good feeling, having all of you here with your stories and pictures and friendly words and gestures every day.

When someone is away for awhile, I always miss them and am so glad when they're back. So....for anyone who's away, hurry back where you belong. :)

[Billie]

Thank you, dutchess and Billie

Hi, Lori....thank you, but I have to say that I never see these Pet threads anymore until the rest of you do! :) (I asked her to, but Dutchess won't remove my name in the heading yet - because of the original background and welcome graphic.)

[FreeTheHostages]

!! Grea article. I was tickled pink to read: "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."

Question: the dog looks a little different than the standard German shepard. Do you know if it is a pure bread dog?

[Pippin]

That's what they're trying to do! :O)

[FreeTheHostages]

{{{Flyer}}} We love you, doggy!

[FreeTheHostages]

Aw c'mon! You could have issued a Kleenex alert with this story!

LOL -- well put.

[FreeTheHostages]

Hey, BTW, thanks for playing yesterday. You had some great/funny entries. "There WILL be a test."

[FreeTheHostages]

"Even with the happy ending, I still cried."

Yup, ru4liberty said it best: they definitely should have issued a tissue alert.

[FreeTheHostages]

Yup, Fiddl always puts on a good feast!

[Pippin]

Good afternoon, Free!

Sigh!

I feel like I'm a cripple!

cause after 2:30pm est. I basically "deaf" "dumb" and "blind"! (at least cyber wise!)

I miss out on a lot!

By the time I readt the previouse thread it's time to get back to work! UGH! I think this is a liberal conspiracy to keep me from communicating with other conservatives! LOL!

My BIL checked tho modem on my PC but found nothing more that a taut line and a dirty wall jack as the problem. But I tried this morning to get on but it still would not let me on saying that the modem could not detect a dial tone. I'm getting frustrated!

And at my work they don't like us to send e-mail messages on thier computers so I guess they also mean posting on forums and threads. I'm mad!

Well, I'll look at the bright side! as least I'l get more done at home! :O)

Thanks for letting me rant a bit!

[jwfiv]

Hi, dutchess...wonderful and touching thread today...thank you.

Amazing and beautiful story...and, it's so...American.

G'day, to all our Hostesses and all neighbors.

Yesterday's was quite an event...didn't have time to hang out much, but I definitely caught the vibe...the Finest, it surely is.

[LadyX]

Thank you for the link to the story on the Wright Brothers, Aquamarine.
It is more than of a little interest, since my husband as a little boy lived just a block over from The Homestead, as the Wright Brothers property was called.

This section of Dayton was called Hills and Dales, John Patterson (founder of the National Cash Register Company) living there, often seen riding his white horse around the area by his mother, Marie.
His statue there depicts him on that horse.
(Her father worked for Mr. Patterson, for whom Wright-Patterson AFB was named.)

Marie and her best friend, Agnes, as children living nearby, often hung on the fence and visited with the Wright brothers, watching their experiments with components for flight on the hill.

The two girls maintained a lifelong friendship, visiting back and forth even after Marie moved to Florida in the 60's, until Agnes died when they were in their latter eighties.

Bernie often went sledding there, The Homestead situated on a hill that sloped long and wonderfully - a favorite place for all the children.

[LadyX]

Here is the Flyer we all know and love - -

He laughs a lot at us humans..:))

[Aquamarine]

I thought of you when I saw that article remebering that there was a Wrights Brothers connection in Bernie's past.
It's so amazing how two dropouts from Dayton could change the world like that! It's also hard to believe it's been a hundred years!

[LadyX]

Since it's a Doggy Day here at The Finest:

[MeekOneGOP]

Hello, ALL !!

Here is an article posted by new FReeper MelSueKal.
Please go to the link and Freep this poll. Thanks.

Click HERE to go to the site to vote

Click HERE to go to the article

My dad, Bill Bellman, has been a baseball fan for as long as he can remember. He played as a kid on throughout his time in the Army, and coached Rob and I when we played softball and baseball. Even today, a heart attack hasn’t stopped him from running and keeping in shape, occasionally getting out on the diamond to risk injury to those “seasoned” knees and ankles.

Last month, Dad asked Sebastian and I to “put together a little video” of his swing so that he could enter a nation-wide contest in which the winners will be selected to step up to the plate and face Nolan Ryan. Sebastian did a great job and, long story short, Dad’s video entry made it to the Top 10.

The 5 winners selected from online voting this week will be part of a Round Rock Express game in August, with Nolan Ryan pitching to each of these “Real Deal” fans. My dad is thrilled beyond belief to have gotten this close to batting off one of baseball’s greatest pitchers.

PLEASE take two seconds and click on the below link (or paste into your browser bar) and vote for my Dad! He’s “Bill B.”, second down on the list. And please feel free to pass this along to any other willing participants. ;-)

http://www.babyruth.com/fanwinners.asp

Thank you so much for your help in stuffing the ballot box!

Click HERE to go to the site to vote

Click HERE to go to the article

[LadyX]

Nuther phunny one for dog lovers:

[LadyX]

How exciting, Richard!!

I VOTED for your Dad!

This is a chance of a lifetime for Meekie's father - a retired VETERAN - to have his dream!

Please go to the link in Meekie's Reply and VOTE FOR BILL B. - - -

[LadyX]

Another shameless bump for your post # 76, Meekie:

[firewalk]

Hello LadyX (-:

Okay, voted...hope you're having a nice day