US Soldier in Afghanistan Looking for Information About Cherry, Dog Rescued There
This is a big wow! An American soldier stationed in Afghanistan has barked in asking for help finding information and pictures about a camp canine angel, Cherry. If you can help Kim out by sharing pictures or stories about Cherry, please bark in!
Sometimes I have to report bad dog news coming out of the war zones. I’m very glad to have the chance to share this story with Dogsters and Catsters!
Please crosspost this article so that Kim can have the best chance of getting the most information on Cherry!
And Kim, please send in a picture of two of Cherry when you get them. I know we are all anxious to see the dog who won the heart of the camp.
Update– thanks to Major Kim for sending is a picture of Cherry!
kim york wrote:
Hello, I am stationed in Afghanistan and we use to have a camp dog here. This puppy had lived here almost his entire life. He ended up here as a little fur ball one day back in 2003 as the soldiers came back here off patrol and they looked behind them as they went in the front gate and there was this little fur ball walking right behind them into the gate! The soldiers had been
taking care of him ever since and soldiers have come and gone from Afghanistan, but Cherry had remained. He never left since he walked in the gate three years and some odd months ago.
He got his name when his little balls were sunburned one day. Cherry had done his part here and had kept the vermin out of our camp.He did this I believe to earn his right to stay here. He tried to do all he can to be with us. There were No dogs, no cats, no snakes and no mice.One day I was walking down the road and heard him barking furiously and jumping up and down in circles. Well when I got closer and saw what it was….Cherry was trying to kill a viper snake. This puppy dog has seen more than many soldiers have.
Recently, a health inspector decided Cherry had to be removed from this camp! I started crying, it truly hurt me, because this little dog had no one to help him and if he left this camp the Afghani’s would kill him. Cherry did all he could do to be part of the Americans and they were taking him away from the only home he had. The Afghanis treat dogs like wild animals, they are not pets (to most Afghans) and usually are killed on site.
But a miracle happened and I was able to get Cherry out of this country. He now lives in Oregon. (I could go more into how I got him out of here if you would like to hear it). I haven’t been reunited with him yet, but I know he is safe.
He use to buried his bones here in Afghanistan (i would take pictures of him digging) and I know exactly where the bones are. I am going to dig them up because I know he was saving them for a rainy day…..When I finally return to Oregon I plan to come off the plane and walk up to Cherry and say “here are your bones, you will need them since it rains a lot in Oregon”. My gift to Cherry is not a new home or his bones, my gift to Cherry is love and respect for all he ever did for even one soldier.
I truly believe Cherry’s story needs to be told and yet I have only known Cherry for 3 1/2 months before he had to leave. I was hoping you could get the word out that I am trying to get information about his young life from soldiers and cilvilians that worked at Camp Phoenix. Pictures and stories so I can put his entire life down on paper. I am doing this because I know in my
heart that the soldiers that have served here in Afghanistan loved Cherry and they would want to know how he is and more importantly to have me tell the world about this little guardian angel…..Thank you in advance…..
WOW is right! What a heartwarming story to come out of such devastation. This little pup did as much for these soldiers as they did for him. How great of them to take him in and care for him for so long. And kudos to you Kim for getting him out of that awful country. You are a true angel! I hope you find people who have known and loved Cherry as you have, so that you can again share his story with us. We’d love to here it all!
How touching! I love this story, brought tears to my eyes. So glad that Cherry was saved!
That is the sweetest, warmest story. I hope Kim gets the chance to give Cherry his bones.
I, for one, would really like to hear Kims story of how Cherry got out alive! I’m sure many of the soldiers there found having Cherry around comforting. When you have to deal with such stressful situations on a daily basis, having a dog around surely must be a comfort. Cherry has probably heard secrets that some of these soldiers would never talk about to another person. I am glad that some of the soldiers there got some canine therapy before the health inspector made him leave. Maybe he should have considered the mental health of our troops before making such a judgement. (Personally, I can’t imagine why a dog would have to be removed for “health” reasons!)
God bless Kim and we here will pray for you and Cherry to be reunited soon!
Cherry used to hang out in our Finance Office and sleep during the day. I have a few great pics of him guarding the office. I have a story about Cherry. I saw him hanging outside the mess hall one night, so I went inside and made a bowl of lunch meat and a poured a bottle of water for him. I watched him eat and then he started to follow me back to the my room. I told him to stay and that was the last I saw of him that night. Several days later after duty I was involved in a Softball game and I blew out my knee trying to run to 3rd base. My kneecap ended up in my thigh. Needless to say I was freaked out. Then out of nowhere here come Cherry crying and licking me in my face. For a few moments my frame of reference was broken and I calmed down. He also laid in front of the military ambulance and would not let it leave. He helped me through that moment and I am glad to hear he made it to the States. I wish him well.
Cherry was a very independent and unusual dog. He would lie down in the middle of the concrete road and sleep in front of our billets. You could step over him and he would not even raise his head, just crack open an eye. If you were an American he would just return to his slumber and pay you no attention. He had a great deal of trust for Americans.
He disliked the locals, when cleaning crews were walking around cleaning the latrines at night he would bark relentlessly.
In the winter it snowed a lot and I saw many people letting him in their rooms to sleep at night.
I considered him a good friend and I wish him well.
when I met Cherry some tennessee ppl had put a “T” on him I felt sorry for him cause he was always at phoenix when we came by for supplies and he would sit with us outside the PX. probably knew weweren’t Tennessee fans being from Michigan