Marine dog handler Sgt. Larry Mayberry watches military dog, Lex, jump a training obstacle at Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007. The 8-year-old German shepherd, that was wounded in Iraq by an explosion that killed its Marine handler Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee, will be released from duty so it can be adopted by the slain Marine's family, the Marine Corps said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Todd Stone)A Georgia-based military dog wounded in Iraq by an explosion that killed its Marine handler will be released from duty so it can be adopted by the slain Marine's family, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.
The adoption of the 8-year-old German shepherd, Lex, by the family of fallen Marine Cpl. 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, officials said.
"It is extraordinary," said Col. Christian Haliday, commander of the Marine Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., where the dog is based. "As far as we know, it's the first time that a waiver of policy of this nature has been granted."
Lee's family from Quitman, Miss., is scheduled to pick up Lex from the Albany base on Dec. 21 - exactly nine months after a mortar attack killed 20-year-old Lee and wounded Lex in Fallujah last March.
Man's Best Friend
No comments:
Post a Comment