This Hit Home

September 20, 2007

A Base Goes to the Dogs Iraq Strays Find a Use, and a Home, in U.S. Army By YOCHI DREAZEN September 20, 2007; Page A7 Mosul, Iraq When Sgt. First Class Dan Stober was deployed to a small military outpost here in northern Iraq, he expected to spend most of his time training Iraqi soldiers and engaging in the occasional combat raid. Sgt. Dan Stober, with Barrett. Instead, he also found himself wrestling with a different kind of challenge: figuring out what to do with the stray dogs that seek refuge on his base. Sgt. Stober, 34 years old, arrived at India Base in early March and was thrilled to discover that the American soldiers who lived at the former Iraqi army facility had adopted a pair of dogs they named Trigger and Beretta. Sgt. Stober's commander, Col. Christopher Mitchell, arrived at the base at the same time but had a very different reaction. Col. Mitchell decided to enforce the military's rule banning dogs from bases in Iraq and told the departing unit to get rid of the dogs. Soldiers led the animals to a nearby landfill and shot them in the heads. Iraq has long been awash in stray dogs. Since the 2003 invasion, U.S. military bases -- which go through large amounts of food each day, much of which is discarded -- have become popular places for the dogs to gather. For American soldiers eager for reminders of home and a break from the hardships of war, adopting a dog can be an easy temptation. But commanders have long seen the dogs as potential health risks. A military order issued in January 2006 banned all dogs from U.S. bases in Iraq, with the exception of bomb-sniffing animals. That was the regulation Col. Mitchell enforced earlier this year as part of a broader effort to improve cleanliness at India Base, which is home to 80 American soldiers and thousands of Iraqi troops. "I knew I was being the mean guy," says Col. Mitchell. "But I would have otherwise been coming in and saying, 'I'm going to put in place the proper standards -- except for this one,' and the Army can't work that way." The killing of the dogs was on Sgt. Stober's mind in April, when he walked into the small enclosure that houses the base's generator and found five puppies, with their mother, nestling next to the sputtering machine. "I knew that Col. Mitchell was bound by regulations he had to enforce and that it wasn't necessarily what he wanted to do," he says. "But I couldn't just leave the dogs to starve." Sgt. Stober and his wife share their small townhouse near Harrisburg, Pa., with five dogs. He did an earlier tour in Iraq and had been working as a military recruiter in the Philadelphia area while he waited to get out of the Army and begin a career in finance. But when the Army dangled a hefty re-enlistment bonus, he took it to help defray his wedding expenses. He soon got orders to deploy to Iraq again, this time as a military trainer. When he found the dogs huddling by the generator in April, Sgt. Stober says he hesitated only briefly before deciding to ignore the dog ban. He began sneaking food and water out of the base's dining facility for them. After a long day training Iraqi soldiers on basic combat skills, he says, it was relaxing for him to pet the dogs and watch them eat. In mid-April, the military dropped its blanket ban. The new regulation reminded commanders to "ensure enforcement of general order 1 prohibiting mascot adoption," but noted that "force-protection dogs that have been appropriately identified are not considered mascots or pets." That cleared the way for soldiers to effectively adopt dogs that had taken refuge on bases. Of the six dogs that Sgt. Stober found by the generator, only two were still living at India Base when word of the new rule spread. Iraqi guards had shot the dogs' mother to death -- Sgt. Stober says the Iraqis often use strays for target practice -- and three of the puppies had disappeared. The remaining pair of puppies were being quietly looked after by another soldier, Capt. Patrick Cooley, who says he named them Barrett and Springfield, after two types of U.S. rifles. Following the rule change, Capt. Cooley says he quickly filed paperwork registering Barrett and Springfield as force-protection dogs. Sweet-natured and weighing less than 40 pounds each, the mixed-breed puppies didn't appear capable of protecting much of anything. But soldiers on the base say the dogs earned their titles in August when a large section of one of the outpost's walls caved in shortly after midnight, leaving the compound potentially vulnerable to intruders. The soldiers say Barrett and Springfield, then about four months old, stood by the collapsed wall and barked until U.S. soldiers woke up and found the opening. Col. Mitchell says his only objection to the dogs had been the military ban. "Once that went away, I had no problem with having some force-protection dogs." Sgt. Stober says he grew particularly attached to Springfield, a gentle dog who would pat the backs of his heels with her paws until he turned around to play with her. One morning, Sgt. Stober noticed that Springfield seemed lethargic and wasn't touching her food or water. He found out that the Iraqi guards had fed her some chicken bones, one of which appeared to have gotten lodged in her stomach, making it painful to eat or drink. After several days, Springfield's eyes had sunk back in her head, and she was noticeably thinner. "I didn't think she'd survive another day," Sgt. Stober says. "It was inhumane to allow her to suffer like that." He lifted her into his truck and drove to a nearby landfill. When he got there, Springfield could barely move, but she mustered enough strength to take a few steps toward him, which he says broke his heart. He took out his handgun and shot the puppy in the head. But Barrett grew, dining on leftovers. After soldiers wrote home about the dog, their relatives started sending treats, blankets, toys and a new collar. At night, small groups of soldiers sat near Barrett's outdoor sleeping area and took turns scratching her. Sgt. Stober is set to return home early next year and worries about what will become of Barrett. "All I can do is hope that the next unit cares about her as much as we do," he says. "This is the only home she's ever known." Write to Yochi Dreazen at yochi.dreazen@wsj.com1