Rufus comes "home"

Remember Rufus?

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February 16, 2010 - Rufus the Dog: Hero of Bravo 2-121
February 25, 2010 - A Tale of Two Dogs


Rufus the dog, recovering after having been hit while trying to keep a suicide bomber out of "his" Soldiers' living quarters in Afgahnistan this February. Although several Soldiers were injured, they credit Rufus with saving their lives. Courtesy photo.

Soldiers with the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade maintained from the very beginning that the outcome of the suicide bombing which took place in their camp this past February could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the stray dogs they'd adopted.

Five Soldiers from Newnan, Georgia-based Bravo 2-121 were wounded in the attack. But no one was killed, and the Soldiers say that's because their dogs Rufus, Sasha and Target attacked the intruder when he tried to enter their barracks.

Well, Rufus has finally come "home", thanks to the support of several non-profit groups.

"The dogs and the soldiers bonded in such a way that it would be a travesty to leave [the dogs] behind to fend for themselves in a war-torn area and the soldiers never knowing what happened to them," said Robert Misseri, of Robert's Cause, a nonprofit animal-advocacy group. "It's our mission to help these soldiers."

Another good Samaritan, Anna Canaan, 23, whose fiancé, Christopher Chiasson, is a soldier currently stationed at the same Afghan outpost in the Dand aw Patan district, created the Puppy Mission Rescue Facebook page to help the dogs.

Today, Rufus arrives in Manhattan before flying to Augusta, Ga., where he will spend the rest of his years with [Sgt. Chris] Duke and his wife, who is pregnant. Target, being flown out at the same time, will live in Phoenix with the Army medic who saved her life.

Rufus the dog, undergoing treatment after having been hit while trying to keep a suicide bomber out of "his" Soldiers' living quarters in Afgahnistan this February. Although several Soldiers were injured, they credit Rufus with saving their lives. Courtesy photo.

Full article here, and hopefully there will be pictures and stories about the reunions in Augusta and Phoenix!