Congress Steps In to Reunite GI, Sniffer Dog

Air Force Tech Sgt. Jamie Dana, severely injured when her Humvee was bombed in Iraq, awoke in a military hospital and cried out for Rex, her bomb-sniffing dog.

But Rex was killed in the blast, she was told.

Later, Dana found out the German shepherd had suffered a burn but survived after all.

Then her joy turned to sadness when she was told she couldn’t bring him home to the Pennsylvania farm where she was recovering.

The Air Force said it had spent $18,000 training Rex and that by statute, he needed to finish the remaining five years of his useful life before he could be adopted.

Now, under a compromise announced Thursday between House and Senate negotiators, it appears that Rex and Dana will be reunited. A final vote on the bill could come next week.

“I just feel overwhelmed,” said Dana, who plans to become a veterinarian. For the time being, Rex has returned with Dana to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, where she is stationed.

The effort was accelerated by Dana’s congressman, Rep. John E. Peterson (R-Pa.), who said it would be therapeutic for her to have Rex.