Four years ago, I posted a story of a dying dog. This Post - Dogs and Dying - has got a life of its own and many people have now told their own stories and offered comfort to others who are suffering from the loss of their dog.
But what about when Dogs lose their human partners? You may know the story of Greyfriars Bobby
Bobby outlived his master by 14 years and spent most of his life standing guard by John Gray's grave - he was adopted by the town and is buried just outside the graveyard.
This is a picture of Cpl Dustin Lee and his partner Lex. Lex, like the Blackwater Dogs, is a Sniffer Dog and Dusting was a Marine. Dustin was killed in a mortar attack in Falluja. (CNN)
Lex was beside Cpl. Dustin Lee when Lee was killed in a mortar attack in Falluja.
In spite of his injuries, the dog didn't want to leave Lee's side after the attack, according to the Marine's father. Other Marines reportedly had to pull the dog away from the young man's body so medics could reach him.
After quite a bureaucratic struggle, the Lee family have adopted Lex and he now lives with them - honourably discharged and retired from the Corps.
"Lex has had two tours in Iraq," Jerome Lee said. "He's been through a lot, and we just want to get Lex home to our family and let him have a happy life."
Well before joining the Marines, Dustin Lee was known for his devotion to his country. A member of Quitman High School's cross-country track team, Lee and three teammates participated in the Americans United: Flag Across America Run after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
It was no surprise when the young man joined the Marines out of high school in 2004, nor when he went to Albany to train military police dogs. He reportedly was inspired by his mother's work with search and rescue team dogs when he was a boy.
An animal lover who also rode horses, the boy played hide-and-seek with his mother's dog, Jerome Lee said.
"He would let the dog get a sniff of his clothing and then go hide to see if the dog could find him," the elder Lee said.
At the logistics base in Albany, Lee said, he "worked with all the dogs and became the kennel master."
The Marine and Lex had been stationed in Falluja for nearly five months before the fatal attack. When the Marine's body was returned to Quitman in March, hundreds lined the streets waving American flags to say a tearful goodbye. And Lex was there.
In Albany on Thursday, kennel master Mike Reynolds led Lex through his paces for the last time in his military career. But it's time for the old pro to learn some new tricks in civilian life.Jerome Lee said he hopes Lex's presence will make his other two children feel closer to their missing older brother.
"There's always going to be that missing link with Dusty gone," he said. "But part of Dusty is here with Lex.
I think that this hope is part of a larger truth. We all know that joke that we look like our dogs. But I think that something does happen. I think that one of the outstanding evolutionary traits of dogs is that they bond so closely with us. I think that they absorb our spiritual essence. They so tune in to us that they become part of us.
I have also observed that they "Know" family. Maybe they recognize us as part of the "pack" by our family smell.
So my bet is that Lex and Dustin's family will get what they need. Lex will live out his days with his pack and the Lees will truly have part of their brother and son with them for as long as Lex lives.
Do you have a story of what happened to a dog after the death of its human partner? If you do, please share it with us in the comments.
Postscript - Hachiko - the Japanese "Bobby"
The year was 1925. Every morning, Professor Ueno Eizaburo walked to Shibuya station accompanied by his loyal dog, Hachi, nicknamed Hachiko. Hachiko didn't accompany his master to his teaching job at the Imperial University (now known as Tokyo University), but when Professor Ueno returned every day at 3pm, the dog was always at the station waiting for him. However, on May 21 of that year, Ueno died of a stroke while at the university. Hachiko went to Shibuya as always to meet his master, but 3 o'clock came and went, and the professor didn't arrive. So Hachiko waited. And waited.
The Akita must have known something was wrong, but nonetheless he returned to the station every day at 3 o'clock to meet the train. Soon people began to notice the loyal dog's trips made in vain to meet his master. Ueno's former gardener, the Shibuya stationmaster, and others began feeding Hachiko and giving him shelter. Word of his unaltered routine spread across the nation, and he was held up as a shining example of loyalty. People travelled to Shibuya simply to see Hachiko, feed him, and gently touch his head for luck.
The months turned to years, and still Hachiko returned to Shibuya station daily at 3pm, even as arthritis and aging took their toll. Finally, on March 7, 1934 - nearly ten years after last seeing Professor Ueno - the 12-year-old Akita was found dead on the same spot outside the station where he had spent so many hours waiting for his master.
Hachiko's death made the front pages of major Japanese newspapers. A day of mourning was declared. Contributions poured in from all over the country to memorialize the dog that had won the hearts of the nation. Sculptor Ando Teru was hired, with the money that had been contributed, to create a bronze statue of Hachiko. In April 1934 it was placed on the exact spot where Hachiko had waited for so long. (Link Here)
