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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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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[SierraWasp]

Hi LadyX!!!

I voted and it's up to 13% for Bill B.!!!

[LadyX]

Thanks, BeforeISleep - - it's a beautiful summer day..:))

I'm getting some cleaning done, next week having my grandson (nearly 18) and his girlfriend coming to visit for a couple of days.
He volunteered to do some heavy yard work for me.
Alice is a precious girl - actually enjoys being with us!

Hope Bill B's dream comes true.

[LadyX]

Wasperman - is it really yew???!!!

{{{{{ Hugs for Da Wasperman }}}}}

[MeekOneGOP]

Howdy! Whoops ! I posted that link as a coutesy. Not my Dad, Freeper MelSueKal's Dad:

. . . article posted by new FReeper MelSueKal.

Thanks ! (My Dad is almost as cool, tho, LOL !!!)

[firewalk]

I'm getting some cleaning done, next week having my grandson (nearly 18) and his girlfriend coming to visit for a couple of days.
He volunteered to do some heavy yard work for me.
Alice is a precious girl - actually enjoys being with us!

This is so nice!

Hope Bill B's dream comes true.

Me too (-:

[JulieRNR21]

I've voted for Bill B. and asked cyberfriends to vote also.

Hope your Dad wins.

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL ! I love that cartoon. If dogs could speak, I bet that's what they'd say too !!

[LadyX]

YIKES !!

Haste makes a Bill B happy, though?!

[larryjohnson]

Hi. I voted for Bob.

[larryjohnson]

Bill

[MeekOneGOP]

Not a problem ! I'm sure it does make him happy, and MelSueKal as well. Thanks !

[LadyX]

Love all those happy dogs...:))

[LadyX]

Need to exit stage left for a few hours, relinquishing the 'puter..: (

LadyX must share - LadyX must share - repeat 500 times..: ((

Keep the dogs barkin' and screens lit - -

One more thing -
This could be something we Finest Posters might say !!!
I Exit, laughing - -

[SierraWasp]

"Wasperman - is it really yew???!!! {{{{{ Hugs for Da Wasperman }}}}}"

It be me, sweet LadyX, LIVE an impersonating!!! (present, but unaccounted for)

I been bein buzy wid alla dese CA FReepers, tryin ta dump graywater dimbulb Davis!!! Sorry I been kneeglecktinya!!! Whassup on da right coast? I been pingin ya frum time ta time, right?

[dutchess]

Good afternoon Dave. Poor Giz goes nuts when I pull out the suitcase. One time when we were going on an extended vacation, he suddenly became lame. I took him to the vet who could find nothing wrong. Turned out he was "faking it"! (we caught him walking naturally when he didn't think we were looking!)

[dutchess]

Hi Free. Looks like you checked in about when I had to check out. Again, great job yesterday!

[dutchess]

From Forlorn to Fluffy - that's us . . with hope of regaining the Senate in '04.

You've got that right!

[dutchess]

Even with the happy ending, I still cried. I'm an old softy for these stories.

Hi iceskater. I had the very same reaction.

[dutchess]

I think this calls for a follow-up by Gizmo so we can get the rest of the story.

I agree...I would love to know how they are doing.

BTW, you burst my bubble the other day when you showed me the alternative spelling for dysfunctional. Finally thought I had you :o)

[dutchess]

Hi Lori. I just absolutely loved this story. I'll bet Fluffy is going to have a wonderful life!