I have received many emails concerning a soldier in Iraq. Her name is Sgt. Gwen Beberg and she befriended a puppy in Iraq while serving there. Sgt. Beberg saved this puppy’s life and has formed a bond with this gorgeous dog named Ratchet. Sgt. Beberg and Ratchet are pictured below.
Sgt. Beberg stated in a letter written to the SPCA International that her savior to her sanity while deployed in Iraq came to her on May 11. He was found in a flaming pile of garbage. He was found screaming as only a puppy can when terrified and alone in gruesome heat and toxic smoke. He was rescued and brought to her and trembled in her arms.
Beberg continued to say that everyone pitched in to take care of this puppy and gave him the love he so deserved. He quickly became a unifying force in the Platoon. It was through all of this that Sgt. Beberg and Ratchet formed a close bond.
In Iraq, it is known that they think of dogs and cats as rats, nuisances who are carriers of disease. Therefore, they are often mistreated and killed.
When it was time for Sgt. Beberg to be deployed home, she naturally wanted to bring Ratchet with her but was denied by the Defense Deparmtment that prohibits soldiers in the US Central Command which includes Iraq from adopting pets or transporting them home.
This is where Operation Baghdad Pups comes into play. Baghad pups has been set up to help bring dogs and cats to the states to a home they already have by the soldiers serving over there. A petition site has been set up to collect signatures to help bring Ratchet home. I signed this petition last week. (I apologize for the delayed entry due to the puppymill law in PA). You can go the petition site here.
Terri Crisp, Coordinator of Baghdad Pups, is scheduled to arrive in Iraq today and is hoping to bring Ratchet home with her along with five other dogs. Crisp is the former founder and director of Noah’s Wish who helped Slidell, LA with their animals after Hurricane Katrina. I had traveled to Slidell to help with Noah’s Wish in 2005.
Crisp said that dogs face a painful death on Iraqi streets. US soldiers have rescued many of them from abuse including Iraqi men in a circle kicking a puppy or a boy pulling a puppy down the street with a rope tied around its neck.
Baghdad pups is working with Congress, the military and mental health workers to scrap the ruling banning soldiers from adopting animals.
Ratchet had gone missing recently while Beberg was sent to a staging area to be deployed. She feared the worst and hoped for the best. Ratchet was found in a meat freezer -alive.
I can’t find any reason why Ratchet or other dogs and cats can’t come here to the US to be in new homes. These animals aren’t being brought here to find other homes. These are strictly for dogs and cats who will have a home with a soldier when they return home.
I urge you to sign the petition. These animals’ lives are being saved through these efforts.
Hopefully, Sgt. Gwen Beberg and her beloved dog, Ratchet can be reunited and live together here in the US.