Free Republic

Let the record show that Pat Beberg got her daughter's first homecoming hug. But when Ratchet, the dog that Army Specialist Gwen Beberg rescued last fall in Iraq, moved in for a slurpy kiss, everyone in Fridley's VFW hall sighed with a collective, "Awwwwww." "Hey, baby. Oh, you got so big -- Oh, you got so big," said the soldier to the pup. "Yeah, who's home? Who's home, huh?" The two were reunited Saturday as Beberg returned to Spring Lake Park, completing a tour of duty that unexpectedly led to a cause célèbre. Rachet arrived in October, after Beberg's efforts,...