Home Post has brought you many stories illustrating the incredible bond created between troops and dogs in war. This has been especially true in Afghanistan, where servicemembers have found affection and life-saving companionship with the stray dogs that roam the Afghan countryside. Many of those troops adopt the dogs they became attached to while deployed, and bring them home to the United States.
That was the plan for Bill the dog, an adorable puppy rescued by the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment. Bill was the only survivor in an abandoned litter of puppies discovered by the Marines. The troops literally nursed him back to health, feeding him milk through a small hole poked in a medical glove, according to the website GetBillToTheBall.org:
Bill eventually figured out what to do and after a couple feedings he was eating like a champ. It was feeding time about every three hours for the first couple weeks, and he needed around the clock supervision. Everyone at the PB fed Bill, as everyone rotated through the 24 hour watch rotation. He would mostly just eat, then pass out until next feeding time.
Marine reserve Sgt. Jon Staffen planned to adopt Bill, and raised money through GetBillToTheBall.org to bring him to the United States. Houston TV station KHOU-TV reports Bill died of the puppy disease Parvo in an Afghanistan shelter before he could be flown to Texas. Staffen now plans to adopt another dog from the Afghanistan shelter in Bill's memory.
Here's a television report from KHOU-TV made when Bill was still alive, about Staffen's efforts to bring him home:
