Long-time readers of this blog know that I am a dog lover. My dog is Mitzi, an 80-lb. mutt, rescued from a kill shelter. She is very beautiful. When people ask me what she is, I say she is a genuine American Muttheimer. Most people gravely nod their heads as though they know the breed.
I read a story this morning that made me cry. I tried to read it out loud to Mary, my partner, but I was crying so much that I couldn’t do it. Also she thinks I have a very bad habit of reading things out loud to her. She can read.
Here is the story. If you love dogs, you will cry too. Unless you are made of sterner stuff than me,
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane, have you seen the film “Megan Leavy” a true story about a woman Marine and her war dog.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2017/first-trailer-for-war-drama-megan-leavey-about-a-marine-her-dog/
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No, but I will.
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I have raised and loved several generations of Schnauser pups and I have rescued/spayed and loved seven abandoned cats. I have also said goodbye to all of them.
I think I am lucky today not to be able to access the story in the link, but I certainly know the power of affection given to and received from pets.
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Laura,
You won’t see the pictures, the one of the dog wearing a Marine uniform tailored for him, you won’t see the Marine cradling him, you won’t hear the rifle volleys or the bugle playing Taps, but here is the beginning of the story:
“The evening sky was thick with dark gray clouds.
“There were three volleys of rifle fire. Then silence. A bugler sounded the lonely notes to “Taps.”
“As friends and fellow patriots saluted, Jeff DeYoung carried his best friend Cena, a hardened Marine combat veteran like his owner, past the crowd of well-wishers as they boarded a decommissioned Navy ship in Muskegon, Mich. It was there on Wednesday where the black lab, lame with bone cancer, was euthanized.
“He was 10.
“This raw, emotional moment captures the indelible bond that forms between American troops and the animals who accompany them into battle. Trained to detect roadside bombs and other improvised explosives, war dogs have become vital to the military’s mission overseas, performing lifesaving duties under gravely dangerous conditions, and leaving lifelong impressions on the men and women with whom they serve.
“DeYoung declined to comment, telling the The Washington Post on Thursday he needed time to grieve. In a Facebook post reflecting on their final night together, he called Cena “my brother” and said the dog “blessed my life with love and admiration, happiness and strength.”
“I want to run away and not face what I must do,” he wrote. “But he needs me to be strong and set him free. … Because of him I got to have a family. Because of him I was able to live. May God forgive me for what I do tomorrow. And may the Lord greet you with open arms and a nice ear scratch.”
“Cena was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer after owner Jeff DeYoung noticed he wasn’t putting weight on his front left leg. (Joel Bissell/Muskegon Chronicle via Associated Press)
DeYoung and Cena served together in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, when tens of thousands of Marines flooded into volatile Helmand province as part of President’s Barack Obama’s surge against the Taliban. It would become one of the 16-year war’s deadliest periods, as American forces and their Afghan counterparts fought for control of violent population centers and the surrounding farmlands.
“During one three-week stretch, DeYoung’s unit lost seven troops, according to MLive.com. Fellow Marines credited Cena with saving countless other lives, American and Afghan.
“During their patrols, DeYoung would cradle Cena and carry him across canals, he told the website. He used his body to shield the dog during firefights. In turn, Cena would snuggle beside him at night, using his body heat to keep his battle buddy warm.”…
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You have supplied the pictures and the sounds and tears.
The tears are not alone for this story.
Today I am also commemorating the death of my brother-in- law one year ago. He was a lover of dogs and other wonderful creatures, a Vietnam Vet, who died of cancer caused by exposure to agent orange.
He would have joined in a salute to DeYoung and Cena.
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Dr. Ravitch, I am a dog lover, too. I have an animal shelter dog–Maya. I also have my daughter’s dog, she got from a pug rescue. Her apartment has no yard for dogs and with two babies, it is difficult for them to walk her as much as they used to do.
This story made me cry as well. I am happy this young man and the community honored this dog. I’m happy you love dogs, too!
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Paul & I have loved & put down 3 wonderful dogs. Now we have Amy, maybe 8, a rescued yellow Lab mix. Cena reminds me of Lab Bayley whose bones rest in my flower garden & portrait hangs in our bedroom. Just a family pet. If any reader has not read novel “Suspect” about a police dog & his human partner I bigly recommend the book by Robert Crais.
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Thanks for sharing Diane. Beautiful. Have you read The Art of Racing in the Rain? What an amazing book! You will finish it in two days. I recommend it to dog lovers and non-dog lovers alike.
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Will do.
I recommend “My Dog Tulip.”
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/10/10/nnp/ackerly-dog.html
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I am happy the military gave this service dog the honor it deserved. The military has not always been so generous to these working dogs. Any dog that has served as a bomb sniffing dog has saved lives, and this dog should receive care and should be reunited with its handler, if possible.
I am a dog lover too. My mini-American eskimo dog is eighteen and failing. I will soon have to put her down with great reluctance. My pomeranian is eight and was my daughter’s dog before my grandson arrived. We took the pomeranian in when he could not deal with the new baby.
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Crying. Thanks for posting the article, Diane. Blessings to you, this planet we call Earth, and the cosmos.
Speaking of the cosmos….
Fellow followers, don’t forget about the total solar eclipse happening across this country on 8/21.
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Wonderful story!! I am a dog lover too. Very cool….
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Touching story – just what I needed…
a reminder that there is humanity, puppy breath, unconditional love, and support we humans need without having to quantify it or collect data on.
Wonderful, and heartwarming.
Diane, I can hardly type this comment as I try to focus through the tears.
Thanks
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The hardest thing I ever did was to put down my old faithful mutt. There is something about the innocence of a dog.
On a lighter note, the Jewish wing of one of the families I am related to has the name of Morris Frank, who brought the first help dog to the United States in the 1920s From Switzerland. Buddy was our nation’s first seeing eye dog. Frank also helped to found the first training center for seeing eye dogs in Morristown, NJ and advocated for the blind and their animals, paving the way for modern uses of help dogs who help vets with PSD, diabetics, and a host of other people in need.
In our divided country today, one line of conversation that will unite everyone is a love for these creatures. That reminds me. It is time to walk Susie, my pure bred Prince Mutt lap dog.
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We can agree on this subject. I’ve put down my own dogs also and I cried every time. They were in my care and only required love.
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Yes, we are solely responsible for our pets. When we lose them, we lose a member of our family
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Both I and my children were fortunate to share our growing-up years with Labs. They are special. They seem incredibly intelligent, and perhaps they are– their intelligence seems to be a function of very close observation (like most dogs) combined with such identification with their humans that they seem to glean precisely what is being communicated. Our family’s 2-mo-old puppy, barely with us a week, responded immediately when I tried out “Sit.” At four months when he scrambled up the deck stairs, I tried “Go to the other door.” I closed that door, walked over to the driveway door & opened it, & there he was. As tho he spoke English.
Equal to their intelligence is their tenderness and incredible empathy. Just sigh, & there he is w/his head in your lap & sympathy in his eyes. This was such a blessing and gift to our eldest boy, who was afflicted with mood disorder as well as a rare physical illness that took him from us at age 23 (just 2 yrs after our lab died of his own rare illness). I was a longtime member of a bipolar parents’ forum which I stayed with for a while after our son’s death. A new member apologetically posted: she rarely shared that she had some psychic ability & didn’t want to freak me out so she held back, & got a second vision/dream of my son “with a large black animal” that he insisted she convey to me! 🙂
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Bethree, so beautiful.
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While losing one’s pet is sad no doubt, the glorification of everything death and destruction of the US military through everyday stories such as this one is exactly what the death merchants want you to see and to be viscerally connected to that death and destruction. And the drumbeat of death and destruction continues onward.
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