Marine Rescues 'Lava' the Dog From Hot Zone
April 6, 2005 — -- For much of the Iraq war, Fallujah has been one of the most dangerous hot spots for U.S. troops, an unlikely place for an American Marine to find a new best friend.
But it was there that a group of Marines known as "the lava dogs" came across an irresistible three-week-old refugee -- a puppy.
"Nothing fazed him," Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman said. "Nothing scared him, he didn't mind the shooting and bombs and explosions.
"He was all flea-bitten and just really covered in scabs and filthy dirty," Kopelman, a U.S. Marine reservist, added. "So some of the Marines there found him and cleaned him up. They were using kerosene to get the fleas off him and bathe him in that."
The Marines named him Lava and immediately hid the pup, since pets are strictly forbidden under military law. But the men figured this was worth the risk of a court-martial.
"Lava was a great comfort to all the Marines really, that he was around," Kopelman said. "You get done at the end of a day of fighting and this was kind of nice, to have a puppy there in a house that we occupied."
While most of the unit bonded with Lava, Kopelman took it upon himself to bring the dog home with him to San Diego. It took the help of an American reporter, the Iams Dog Food Company and the Helen Woodward Animal Center, as well as assistence from Vohne Liche Kennels. At one point, Lava was turned back at the Jordanian border.
"I wasn't sure he was coming until he landed," Kopelman said.
Kopelman, who just returned home from Iraq, hadn't seen Lava for a month and a half. Monday's was a homecoming between old best friends.
"People have asked if I was going to change his name, and I said if I did it would only be to Lucky," he said. "Because if you go from Fallujah to Rancho Santa Fe, you're pretty damned lucky."
For more information on Iams, the Helen Woodward Animal Center, and Vohne Liche Kennels, go to www.iams.com, www.animalcenter.org, and www.vohneliche.com.
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