Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 14, 2013

B2

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 14, 2013 


PET OF THE WEEK

6 KIND CANINE CRUSADERS REUNITE

WITH 8 FURRY FOUR-LEGGED 
BATTLEFRONT FRIENDS

 With so many of our military troops returning home from Afghanistan over 
the past several months, there have been numerous heart-warming stories in 
the news about joyful reunions between soldiers and their loved ones, including tail-waging tales of troops receiving happy 
hugs and sloppy kisses aptly administered by their four-legged family members so overwhelmed with excitement to see 
them return home.

 Among my favorite of the most recent soldier homecoming headlines is a uniquely sweet saga involving a unit of 
National Guard soldiers from New York who befriended a hungry and lonely, yet very friendly female dog that showed up 
at their camp barracks on the Western Afghanistan front this past January. The kind-hearted soldiers took her in, built her 
a comfortable shelter and fed her morsels of their daily food rations as she prepared to give birth to a litter of would-be 
unfortunate homeless puppies. They decided to call their new cuddly canine companion “Sheba”.

 Over time, Sheba became very protective of her new-found troop of uniformed friends and the territory they shared 
with her. As self-appointed official guardian of the fort, Sheba showed her instinctual need to protect the pack, taking it 
upon herself to patrol the perimeters of the soldiers’ dwellings by keeping the wild dogs at bay and warning them of any 
threat she deemed worthy of staving off. Intrepid and impregnated, Sheba still reciprocated the soldiers’ kindness with 
daily canine kisses and fun-loving fur therapy, giving them something to look forward to upon their return to camp each 
evening after a difficult day in the field.

 In March, Sheba gave birth to 7 beautiful babes and, understandably, considering her life-long history of neglect and 
malnourishment, she had a tough time of it. When the men saw how weak Sheba had become after her pups were born, 
they all agreed to chip in even more of their individual food rations to help strengthen her so she could, in turn, provide 
proper nourishment for her new brood. Little by little Sheba gained strength, allowing her babies to nurse well enough to 
grow strong and healthy as well, and soon they were playing vigorously around the camp, keeping the troops entertained 
between their daily shifts. OK, so as if this true story isn’t heart-warming enough so far, let me just say that it gets even 
better. Fair warning to my readers; Get out the tissue box!

 During the weeks following their birth, Sheba’s fast-growing group of playful pups brought such a bright light into 
the lives of the soldiers, they couldn’t help forming strong bonds with them. Each soldier rather inadvertently chose a 
favorite of their own from the litter, as they got to know each other. Then, in July, when the unit received their orders to 
leave Afghanistan and report back to their base quarters in New York, they were obviously very pleased to know they were 
going home, but they were also heart-broken at the thought of leaving Sheba and her puppies behind. What would become 
of them with no one to feed them or care for them and give them the love they so desperately needed? The soldiers had 
become attached to those darling dogs, and they simply could not imagine going home without them, wondering the whole 
time whether they would make it on their own in the war-torn land where they were born.

 As the day of departure drew near, Sgt. Caba came to the conclusion that he could not live with himself unless he did 
what he could to find a way to get those dogs safely to the US where they’d have forever homes with the men who cared 
about them and had bonded with them during a difficult time in a place where meaningful bonds are so hard to find. Caba 
contacted an old high school teacher from Long Beach who put him in touch with Guardians of Rescue, a non-profit 
volunteer group whose mission is to bring dogs back from combat zones through solicited donations and networking with 
other groups with similar missions, such as Paws of War, whose motto is: Help a Vet, Save a Pet! As it turned out, through 
the help of his teacher and other determined veteran supporters and animal lovers, Sgt. Caba succeeded in making sure 
Sheba and her 7 babies would make it safely to US soil.

 On September 4th of this year, Sheba and her 7 precious pups were delivered to those kind tender-hearted soldiers who 
had known and cared for them since their birth. Each one of Sheba’s 7 pups are now in the loving care of the respective 
soldier companion they met in that National Guard Unit in their homeland, and they will all live happy lives and thrive 
because of the love and appreciation they will receive from those grateful men who now equally understand what it means 
to fight for the basic freedom to love and let live.

 Meanwhile, the pups’ mom Sheba is in training and on her way to becoming a personal service dog for a wounded 
warrior in need of a helpful companion!

 There are a few videos of this remarkable reunion that were broadcast on syndicated news networks over the past couple 
of weeks, and are now viewable on their websites as well as on YouTube. If you are a dog lover and a supporter of our 
American troops, I highly recommend that you look it up and watch…let the warmth of this true story penetrate your heart. 
Although it might incite awkwardly deep emotions and draw a couple of tears, it is a truly Happy Tail and, let’s face it, 
tears come in a variety of flavors, some more bitter-sweet than others.

 Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of the young men and women who put their life on the line to serve 
our country as soldiers in our military forces. I honestly don’t understand why wars must go on, and I don’t understand 
why due respect and appreciation is, at times, not given to those who truly deserve it. However, I do understand the basic 
human need for compassion and love, and for that reason I want to thank Sheba and her beautiful brood of babes for the 
compassion and love they shared with a small group of our young troops who needed it while they were in a foreign field 
serving our country. Welcome to the USA, Sheba and company. You are loved!!!

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

ALFRED

Meet Alfred, a wonderful pit bull 
puppy who is about one year old. 
Many feel that he is the sweetest 
dog on Earth. His story is a sad 
one, but it’s gotten better, and will 
hopefully have a happy ending. 
Alfred, or “Alfie” as he is more 
well-known as, was dumped at 
a very high-kill shelter with a 
shattered leg. With the help of 
generous donors, he was able to 
get the surgery he needed on his 
leg. He is now fully recovered in 
a foster home and doing great. 
He is just waiting on his forever 
home. 

Alfie is a gentle soul who loves all 
other dogs and adores children, 
too. He walks well on the leash, 
and enjoys walks and hikes very 
much. He plays well with other 
dogs, and loves cuddling up with them at the end of the day. Alfie has good 
manners in the house, and is a charming and very handsome pup. He is already 
neutered, housetrained, and up-to-date with shots. He will be a wonderful 
companion for an individual, couple, or family looking for a loyal, well-socialized 
best friend. Whoever is lucky enough to adopt this puppy will be showered 
with endless puppy kisses and joy that only a dog companion can bring. To 
see an adorable video of Alfie playing with a bunch of puppies, please visit 
this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nxNAOxVEM&feature=c4-
overview&list=UUDQtN9FNDg-6XdpeB6SBgOQ

An adoption fee/donation, home check and adoption contract are required for 
Alfred.


If interested in learning more about Alfred, please contact loveleorescue@
gmail.com or Sasha at 802-233-5697. 


LOOKING FOR A BEST 
FRIEND??

So is Ruffles! She is approximately 
3-4 years old and weighs 9.3 pounds. 
She is sweet and friendly and has 
kisses to share. Once she gets to 
know you, she will jump right into 
your lap for a belly rub. Ruffles has 
beautiful markings and the most 
adorable face. She is a happy, perky 
little gal who enjoys going for walks, 
and gets along well with her kennel 
mate. She is spayed, up to date with 
all routine shots and ready to move 
in. Please consider making Ruffles 
part of your family!

She currently resides at the San 
Gabriel Valley Humane Society 
located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in 
San Gabriel with her roomie, Lottie. We are located off San Gabriel Blvd., north 
of Mission and south of Las Tunas. 

To arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Ruffles (aka….. SG05255), please stop by 
any time from 10:00am to 4:30pm Tuesday thru Sunday. 

Her adoption fee is $120 which includes her spay surgery, a microchip, first 
vaccinations and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian. Feel 
free to call us at (626) 286-1159 for more information on Ruffles. 

See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for information and photos of all our 
available pets.