thedrifter
12-12-07, 02:29 PM
Marines let family adopt slain son's bomb-sniffing dog
Associated Press - December 12, 2007 2:44 PM ET
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - The Marine Corps said today that a Georgia-based military dog wounded in Iraq by an explosion that killed its handler will be released from duty so it can be adopted by the slain Marine's family.
Officials say the adoption of the 8-year-old German shepherd, Lex, by the family of fallen Marine Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee marks the first time the U.S. military has granted early retirement to a working dog so it could live with a former handler's family.
Lee's family from Quitman, Missississippi, is scheduled to pick up Lex from the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany on December 21st. That is nine months after a rocket-propelled grenade killed Lee and wounded Lex in Fallujah on March 21st.
The Lee family lobbied the military for months to allow it to adopt Lex. Though some shrapnel remains lodged in his back, Lex has otherwise recovered from his wounds and has been serving alongside military policemen at the Albany base since July.
Ellie
Associated Press - December 12, 2007 2:44 PM ET
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - The Marine Corps said today that a Georgia-based military dog wounded in Iraq by an explosion that killed its handler will be released from duty so it can be adopted by the slain Marine's family.
Officials say the adoption of the 8-year-old German shepherd, Lex, by the family of fallen Marine Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee marks the first time the U.S. military has granted early retirement to a working dog so it could live with a former handler's family.
Lee's family from Quitman, Missississippi, is scheduled to pick up Lex from the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany on December 21st. That is nine months after a rocket-propelled grenade killed Lee and wounded Lex in Fallujah on March 21st.
The Lee family lobbied the military for months to allow it to adopt Lex. Though some shrapnel remains lodged in his back, Lex has otherwise recovered from his wounds and has been serving alongside military policemen at the Albany base since July.
Ellie