Spc. Mary Rose
MNC-I PAO
April 15, 2005
CAMP SLAYER, Iraq -- After the April 2 insurgent attack at Forward Operating Base Abu Ghraib, Iraq, a Belgium Malinios trained as a narcotic and patrol dog went missing. He was found injured two days later.
When Abu Ghraib prison was attacked by insurgents, the kennel facility's rooftop was hit by rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.
During the attack, a short-tailed dog with reddish-colored fur, Bo, traumatized by the hostile activity, muscled through the plywood door on his kennel and escaped out of the secure room he was living in.
For the next two days BO's handler, Staff Sgt. Chad O. Jones, along with others, scoured the compound looking for him. "Many people saw him but could not contain him. I felt like one of my Soldiers was missing," said Jones, 529th Military Police Company, 18th Military Brigade, Darmstadt, Germany.
"After 24 hours I thought he was dead," Jones said. "He's like my son or my troop. I've been with him for almost two years. I train him, bathe him and feed him â?¦ he's my partner."
Jones was going to keep searching for BO, whose name is spelled with a big "B" and a big "O', until he found him, said Staff Sgt. Jimmy Blankenship, kennel master, Multi-National Corps -- Iraq. "Never leave someone behind," Blankenship said about Jones and BO.
If BO didn't make it he would have been the first canine killed in action in a combat zone since the Vietnam War, said Blankenship.
Bo was finally found curled up in a corner of an abandoned building on April 4 by an unknown Marine stationed at Abu Ghraib. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since he disappeared.
"He was covered in mud and he was bleeding from his paws," Jones said.
Jones said that Bo was looking for him and that he was in a scud bunker and that is why he couldn't find him.
"Bo is gunfire aggressive, so I know he didn't quit moving for two days," Jones said.
Once he was located he was transported by the 115th Field Hospital to the International Zone in Baghdad for treatment.
Brown-eyed BO sustained several injuries, including lacerations on all four of his paws, an injury to his right eye, two puncture wounds in his belly from razor wire and severe dehydration.
The hair was shaved off an area of his leg where the doctors gave him fluid injections. He was also wearing bandages on his feet that look like bright blue booties, similar to mittens children might wear.
After receiving stabilizing care at the IZ he was moved to Camp Slayer, Iraq, for relaxation and further supervision from a veterinarian.
BO and his handler have been in Iraq since January working at the Abu Ghraib prison. His duties include visual deterrence, ordinance detection and patrolling.
He was dual trained as a narcotics and patrol dog at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Even with the trauma BO has been through he's a really highly driven dog, Jones said. It should only take a couple weeks of down time for him to be back on the job.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2005 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 1676 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 13 |
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