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Marine Finds 4-Legged Friend in the Unlikeliest of Places

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The last thing Marine Craig Grossi expected to get out of his deployment to Afghanistan’s Sangin District was a new friend – and a four-legged one at that. But this is where he and his unit would spend the next few days fighting the Taliban, and when the fighting finally subsided, Craig had the opportunity to explore a region that no other Americans had been in for years. Among the debris, a lively little dog caught Craig’s eye, and would soon become his best friend.

Having constructed his own little camp in some nearby bushes, the dog seemed to be self-sufficient but not opposed to people, occasionally walking across the marine compound when out searching for food. Charmed by the dog’s demeanor, Grossi couldn’t help but do anything he could to skirt around the Marines rule that dogs were not to be approached for safety reasons. Equipped with a morsel of beef jerky, he carefully approached the pup, who was bug and dirt covered, when something special happened. “He wagged his tail and it blew me away,” Grossi says. Most likely his first positive human interaction, the dog melted Grossi’s heart as he accepted a few caring scratches behind the ear and their bond was sealed. When Grossi misheard a fellow Marine saying, “Looks like you made a new friend!”, the inadvertent name of “Fred” was stuck with the pooch, and he quickly became Grossi’s constant companion. Watch the video on Fred’s fated meeting and life with Grossi, here in The Dodo Facebook video:


When helicopters arrived to move the unit, Grossi felt a familiar nudge and looked down to find a scared but willing Fred ready to ship out. “If I got caught with him, I could go to jail. And he would be put down, no questions asked,” Grossi said. A shipping company had set up a station nearby the base and Grossi took an opportunity to ask a few “hypothetical” questions about shipping a dog home to the United States. Fred once again turned on his charm and the shipping company agreed to care for him for a short time until Grossi could return to the field and sort out the necessary paperwork to ship Fred home.

Marine Finds 4-Legged Friend in the Unlikeliest of Places

Photo: Facebook/Fred the Afghan

Grossi’s return itself would only be accomplished by narrow margin, as he suffered a brain injury during a rocket attack, but even while recovering in the hospital, his thoughts were never far from Fred. As the pieces came together and the paperwork was prepared, Fred’s passage home was secured with a friendly fellow soldier that was working in a unit caring for military dogs. Shortly thereafter, Fred was safely on a plane en route to JFK airport, where Grossi’s family waited patiently to pick him up.

Marine Finds 4-Legged Friend in the Unlikeliest of Places

Photo: Facebook/Fred the Afghan

Three months later, Grossi himself returned to the US and was reunited with Fred, who hasn’t left his side since. In 2015, the pair traveled the country together, telling their story to animal lovers along their journey. They’re currently developing a book about Fred’s own journey to his new life and they share details about their bond on a website at www.fredtheafghan.com. It’s clear that Grossi had not only love for God and country, but also for this adorable little guy!

Source:

Women.com