From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava
by By Roth, Melinda and Kopelman, Jay
Category: Pets , Dogs , General

Love and hope often arrive in the strangest places and in the strangest ways. During his tour of duty in Iraq, Lt. Colonel Jay Kopelman of the U.S. Marines suffered the emotional ravages common for those involved in the bloody battle for Fallujah. Breaking the strict military rules forbidding pets, Kopelman and his comrades adopted an abandoned puppy left behind after the battle in the dangerous red zone. The dog (named Lava) befriended the marines and journalists, and was eventually smuggled out of Iraq by the soldiers, with the help of NPR reporters, ABC cameramen, Iraqi citizens, and the Iams Pet Food Company.