For those who dont know me well Im involved with a number of veterans groups
doing my part to help those who serve past and present .
I want to take a moment to share a story about a veteran who passed this last year .
His name is Emperor, He departed us at the ripe old age of 12.
Emperor was a war dog. A member of Seal Team 3 Decorated hero.
Emperor died of cancer , A tumor the size of a football according to the vet who did the surgery in a hail mary attempt to save his life
Emperor was my close friend Laszlo's therapy / seizure dog for the last 6 years .
Before that he was a trained explosive detection dog , who served multiple tours in the middle east with the teams.
His last patrol Emperor was with the squad to clear a road that was mined all the time . The road was for workers to get to a school
under construction for girls to become educated ... A NO No in that part of the world..
While out front of the patrol his handler was cut down and killed by machine gun..
Emperor chewed himself loose from his harness and flanked the 3 machine gun nests and went on the attack.
While the seals were pinned down by heavy fire Emperor managed to get into the 3 fighting positions and killed all but one terrorist.
As the fire stopped the patrol went forward and saw Emperor dragging the last half dead enemy out of his hole by the head
and finished the guy off. Looking over the scene they found 5 dead men . They tended to Emperor who had his throat slit, A knife blade busted off
in his skull and his mouth badly broken and missing most of his teeth. . A medivac helicopter was called in for the team and they didnt want to take the dog
as their protocols call for dispatching the wounded K 9.
This didnt sit well with the Seals who changed their minds and Emperor was transported to Germany to be saved .
Mind you all,,,,, Emperor was NOT trained as a fighting combat dog, he was a bomb sniffer , yet when duty called he went above and beyond to save his teammates .
With such sever injuries Emperor was returned to his trainers in Colorado who repurposed him as a therapy dog. His team mates awarded him a Bronze star and Purple heart even though that is not done for animals
His next duty was helping my buddy Laszlo who suffers from PTSD / Seizures and depression . Lazlo is a 18 year Marine recon / agency operator who needed help
and Emperor was there for him too.
After faithful service to all Emperor is now buried in our local Wardog Memorial
GONE But NOT Forgotten
Peace be with you Emperor. You will Not Be Forgotten
Dave