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http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Afghan+coming+Canada/1082670/story.html
PASAB, Afghanistan - An Afghan war dog that has protected NATO soldiers fighting here is moving on to a more peaceful life in Canada.
The friendly white dog named Mushe, whose furry mug was splashed across Canadian newspapers in mid-November, will go to live on an Ontario farm next spring when the two military police soldiers who have adopted her finish their tours.
Mushe has become a life-protecting companion for those soldiers, their comrades, and an Afghan police detachment at their small outpost in one of the most violent areas of southern Afghanistan. She goes on patrol, entering compounds before the soldiers and police, barking if anyone is there. She keeps Afghan men of fighting age at bay, letting only small children near the soldiers and police.
After Mushe’s story was published in Canwest newspapers across Canada in a story on pets at Canadian bases, Canada’s military brass decided to grant approval for the dog to be flown to Canada, where she’ll live in Chatham, Ont.
“Family friends have a large farm back home," said Cpl. Gordon Martin of 2 Military Police unit in Petawawa, Ont., who, with Cpl. Nikki Bucci of the same unit, first proposed bringing their wartime companion to Canada. “They have a few hundred acres so they have all the space and the room for her. She can’t be penned up - she’s not a dog used to being in close quarters. Having her run around on the farm - I think she’ll feel right at home.”
In early December, Bucci had travelled from their outpost in war-ravaged Zhari district to the NATO base at Kandahar Airfield, and while there, made initial inquiries about Mushe’s prospects of moving to Ontario.
“A couple of days later we got the phone call from HQ which said it was approved,” Martin said.
The veterinary contingent at the airfield base, who are responsible for dogs used in bomb-sniffing and security operations, have agreed to provide Mushe with the shots she’ll need for clearance to live in Canada, Martin said.
The born-and-raised Afghan dog’s street smarts exceed those of at least one specially trained import. On an operation last week, an American bomb-sniffing German shepherd on its first mission away from the NATO base found a container holding liquid residue from insurgents’ homemade explosive. The animal promptly began lapping it up, a few hours later suffering an uncomfortable bout of diarrhea.
PASAB, Afghanistan - An Afghan war dog that has protected NATO soldiers fighting here is moving on to a more peaceful life in Canada.
The friendly white dog named Mushe, whose furry mug was splashed across Canadian newspapers in mid-November, will go to live on an Ontario farm next spring when the two military police soldiers who have adopted her finish their tours.
Mushe has become a life-protecting companion for those soldiers, their comrades, and an Afghan police detachment at their small outpost in one of the most violent areas of southern Afghanistan. She goes on patrol, entering compounds before the soldiers and police, barking if anyone is there. She keeps Afghan men of fighting age at bay, letting only small children near the soldiers and police.
After Mushe’s story was published in Canwest newspapers across Canada in a story on pets at Canadian bases, Canada’s military brass decided to grant approval for the dog to be flown to Canada, where she’ll live in Chatham, Ont.
“Family friends have a large farm back home," said Cpl. Gordon Martin of 2 Military Police unit in Petawawa, Ont., who, with Cpl. Nikki Bucci of the same unit, first proposed bringing their wartime companion to Canada. “They have a few hundred acres so they have all the space and the room for her. She can’t be penned up - she’s not a dog used to being in close quarters. Having her run around on the farm - I think she’ll feel right at home.”
In early December, Bucci had travelled from their outpost in war-ravaged Zhari district to the NATO base at Kandahar Airfield, and while there, made initial inquiries about Mushe’s prospects of moving to Ontario.
“A couple of days later we got the phone call from HQ which said it was approved,” Martin said.
The veterinary contingent at the airfield base, who are responsible for dogs used in bomb-sniffing and security operations, have agreed to provide Mushe with the shots she’ll need for clearance to live in Canada, Martin said.
The born-and-raised Afghan dog’s street smarts exceed those of at least one specially trained import. On an operation last week, an American bomb-sniffing German shepherd on its first mission away from the NATO base found a container holding liquid residue from insurgents’ homemade explosive. The animal promptly began lapping it up, a few hours later suffering an uncomfortable bout of diarrhea.
