The difference a dog makes.....

Above Lance Cpl. Daniel Franke, a dog handler attached to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, enjoys a quiet moment in Towrah Ghundey, Afghanistan, on June 11, 2010.

Foreign Policy online magazine has had some great articles including their " War Dog of the Week" which I have featured - Enclosed is a link to a special on " The Dogs of War".....

I miss my pups something fierce and wish I could have one here while here...Dogs make the difference.

Here is the Link to the entire feature....

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/12/war_dog_ii?page=0,8

The difference a dog makes: No matter how war dogs were involved on that fateful day in Abbottabad, the military's canine forces are doing more than their fair share. And even if the true story of what happened never comes out, we already have plenty of legendary war dogs to celebrate: the three stray mutts living on a base in Afghanistan who wrestled a suicide bomber to the ground, forcing him to detonate before ever reaching the barracks where 50 soldiers lay sleeping; the fatally wounded handler who called for his dog with his last breath; the bomb-sniffing dog who, after his trainer was killed in Afghanistan, succumbed shortly after of a "broken heart."

Like other handlers, Dowling knows this from experience. His dog Rex was "a great moral boost, a symbol of home. You come back to base [to these dogs] that are so freakin' loyal -- a dog who is waiting for you, who will play with you because they love you.... There are so many benefits."