A
TEAM EFFORT REPATRIATES A FALLUJAH ORPHAN WITH FOUR PAWS
By
Steve Dale
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The
First Battalion, Third Marine Regiment from Hawaii had been going
from house to house in Fallujah, Iraq sniffing out insurgents.
It’s a life and death assignment carried out by a group
of American tough guys nicknamed the Lava Dogs.
At
one home, they hear a strange sort of whimpering and cautiously
turn a corner as they follow the source of this sound they had
never before encountered. In Fallujah, you never know what’s
around the next corner. Around this corner they collectively smile
when they discover the source of the whimpering: A four-week old
floppy eared puppy dog.
They
scoop up the dog and return him to the base.
Coincidentally,
Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman of the U. S. Marines is also stationed at
that base as a liaison to help train Iraqi special forces to deal
with the insurgencies. For Kepelman, 45, this was his second tour
of duty in Iraq. If I have one weakness in life, it’s dogs,”
he says. “And, well, a puppy is one thing that can make
any soldier melt.”
At
first, the pup, which was named Lava, slept under a cot. But as
the November weather grew surprisingly cold, Kopelman brought
Lava inside. He found a box and a fleece pull over for Lava At
around that time Kopelman said, “I realized I had to find
a way to get this dog home.”
That’s
a task that proved easier said that done since dogs aren’t
allowed on the base in the first place, something Kopelman understood.
“After all, you can’t have pets in the middle of a
war.” But when you’re in love in a puppy, the rules
don’t matter. Still, he knew he couldn’t receive help
from the U.S. military.
Kopelman
twice received orders to work on other assignments elsewhere in
Iraq. Knowing he would return, and not wanting to endanger Lava,
he thought it better to leave the pup behind to be cared for by
fellow Marines. Eventually, Lava moved to Baghdad and was sheltered
at a home being used by staff of National Public Radio (NPR) where
reporter Anne Garrels spent much of her free time trying “repatriate”
the pup back to the states. But she just couldn’t successfully
arrange a way out for Lava.
Meanwhile,
in Rancho Santa Fe, CA Kopelman’s fiancé, Ellen Stiefler,
had a friend married to a guy who happened be the grandson of
the late Helen Woodward. Not exactly, a direct connection, but
good enough to get the attention of the Helen Woodward Animal
Center in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. The shelter was at that time (December,
2004) spearheading their 6th Annual Iams Home 4 the Holidays Pet
Adoption Drive, working with 1,800 agencies around the country
to encourage pet adoptions into forever homes.
John
Van Zante, public relations director at the shelter, told the
Iams pet food company and Ken Licklider of Vohne Liche Kennels
and Vohne Liche Securities in Denver, IN about efforts to bring
Lava to California. “Iams provided the financial support
to get the job done, and Ken made it possible with his know how,”
Van Zante says.
Since
1993, Licklider has been providing police and military with working
dogs. Many working dogs in Iraq are from Licklider’s facility.
Licklider and Brian Giffith, a staff member based in Iraq, attempted
to figure out a way to get the pup home.
Just
when it looked like Lava was going to make it back safely, Kopelman
received the orders he wanted to hear – it was time to return
home. But he was forced to leave Lava behind in Garrels’
care. No problem with that, he trusted Garrels. But soon Garrels
was also told to return home. That’s when an Iraqi citizen
name Varham stepped in (Varham isn’t his real name, but
he feels he requires a pseudonym to protect his identify). When
Lava first arrived at the NPR house, Varham, an NPR worker, was
hardly enamoured with the pup. But Lava quickly wiggled his way
into his heart. Varham not only took over Lava’s care when
Garrels departed, he taught the dog to play soccer.
On
mid-March, Licklider and Griffith worked out transportation details,
and on April 4 Kopelman and Stiefler greeted their newest family
member at San Diego International Airport. Later an introduction
to LuLu, the family’s 8-year old golden retriever went well,
as if the two dogs had known one another forever. “I couldn’t
believe Lava had learned soccer,” Kopelman says and laughs.
“He’s great.”
Licklider
says right now there are likely over 500 working dogs in Iraq,
many do bomb detection and/or protection work, others sniff out
land mines. “There’s no question that the death toll
of Americans and Iraqis would be higher if it wasn’t for
the dogs,” he says.
When
a hotel in Baghdad was recently bombed, the terrorists went around
back to avoid being the protection and detection dogs stationed
at the front the entrances of the building. The hotel was damaged
but no people were hurt. Licklider says, “The presence of
the dogs alone is an enormous deterrent; they’re just not
used to seeing protection or detection dogs over there. And these
dogs do find weapons every day, and those weapons presumably would
have been used.”
While
his job in Iraq didn’t involve handling dogs, Kopelman says,
“I saw up close what these dogs could do. I think we all
appreciated and respected how they save lives.” As for Kopelman
his next stop with his 6-month old pup is a dog training class,
“As Van Zante says, “My friend Lt. Col. Kopelman may
have rank, but try telling that to a 6-month old puppy.”
