All About Phoenix

I am an Explosive Ordanance Disposal soldier currently serving in Afghanistan and I've been taking care of a female dog we call Phoenix for the last 10 months. We meet Phoenix on a remote patrol base where she had befriended the infantry soldiers at the gate. The unit was unable to keep her and was going to have to euthanize her due to health concerns (rabies is a large problem in Afghanistan). We happened to be passing through after disposing of an IED in the area when we saw the puppy. After hearing that they would have to euthanize her we decided to take her with us. Being EOD has certain benefits and one of which is we usually have our own secured compound on our base. So we smuggled the puppy back to our compound where she lived with us for the next ten months. Puppies can be a hand full and a puppy in Afghanistan is no different. It didn’t take long for Phoenix to start exploring her new home and her favorite spot just happened to be the 12 inch gap between the wooden tent floor and the ground below. I’m not sure if it was because she felt secure under there or if it was the 120 degree heat but when she was outside she could always be found under the tent. On several occasions she managed to get herself stuck under there and you would hear her little whine coming from under afoot. When this happened you would have to go to the largest opening under the tent and call for her, she would then wiggle and worm her way out to you covered in dirt. This process was repeated several times until she was eventually too big to fit under our tent. Phoenix was a surprisingly smart pup and quickly learned to sit, shake, catch, lay down and even play dead when shot by a pretend finger gun. Over the last 10 months she has been our rock always there with a smile and those brown doggy eyes. Our unit has been through a lot on this deployment 5 of our 44 soldiers have been sent home with serious injuries from IED blasts and the Infantry Battalion in which we support has sustained several more. Phoenix made copping with those realities a little easier she just so happens to be a great listener. Having a dog around brings a little piece of home too; it’s nice to have something to care for. I spent countless hours outside with her playing catch or wrestling or just chilling out. She truly made this last year easier for me and all the soldiers around her. I think Phoenix brought a little joy to everyone who came in contact with her. As the deployment was winding down we began to think of what would happen to Phoenix when we left and the more we thought about it the more we realized the outlook for Phoenix was not good. A life for a dog outside the walls of our base is not one you would wish on any dog. This dog had now become part of our family and the unknown of whether our replacements would be able or willing to care for her was not good enough. So through the magic of the internet I was able to contact Pam Constable and the Afghan Stray Animal League. Pam quickly jumped to our rescue and we arranged to transport Phoenix to a shelter the organization runs in Kabul. The process was simple really we just had to bribe a local afghan to drive her to Kandahar and then she was flown in a combat zone to Kabul where the group picked her up and brought her to their shelter. I am truly amazed by the work that Pam and her colleagues do on a daily basis and ask for nothing in return these are amazing people. And that brings us to now. Phoenix is waiting in Kabul until we can raise enough money to transport her to the United States. In total the transportation alone is going to be about 3500 dollars. I know that sounds crazy it is a lot of money to spend on one stray afghan dog but Phoenix is so much more than that to me and my fellow soldiers she’s our battle buddy we have literally been shot at together. I cannot and will not leave her here in this place so I ask you for your help anything you can donate to help bring my battle buddy home is greatly appreciated. I will do my best to keep you all updated so check out Phoenix’s Face book page (Phoenix MacAlister) or her blog at http://phoenixeod.blogspot.com/. Thank you all and God Bless.