Whatcha Talking 'bout Willis?

You frequently see dogs all over in Afghanistan.  However, they are not well liked.  They scavange for food and avoid humans at all costs as they are usually kicked or have things thrown at them by most that they encounter.  There are a few puppies that I feed on a regular basis, they will eat out of my hand, but they will not allow me to touch them.  I named them Lucy and Ricky.

The other morning as I left camp and was headed to AGCHO I looked over onto the street and saw this dog running along the side of the barrier and he was doing this happy bark.  A few of the soldiers were trying to shoo him away and I yelled at the soldier to knock it off as he was throwing things at him.  The dog soon found his way over to the sidewalk where we were walking, he came right up to me and I rubbed his head and his ears.  I thought right away, this dog is different, he is too friendly, he let me touch him without even knowing me. We continued walking, and he just walked right along with us.

He kept walking with us all the way to AGCHO, we had to go through several gaurds, all of whom tried to shoo him away, but I told them that he was my friend and they let him in.  Once we arrived at the GTC he just hung around the building all day while we were inside.  We stepped out every so often to give him a little love or a treat, but he just stayed right there all day.

I thought he might get bored waiting for us all, and decide to move on, so I made sure to take some pictures of him because he was such a sweet dog.  So I grabbed him close and he began to lick my face, soon he had moved behind me, put both of his paws on my shoulders and lowered his head to the side of my neck as if to give me a hug.  It was very sweet.

Once we were finished for the day we headed back to camp and he came with us, but this time we had decided to call him Willis. He walked all the way back to camp and I said good bye to him at the gate.  I had to tell the gaurds to be nice to him because he wanted to follow us in.  We walked in to the gate and past a second set of guards.  I look back and the guards at the first gate had opened it up wide and here came Willis charging down the alley way towards us.  I knew right away that this wasn't going to be good.  There are cats on the base and a few military dogs, but you didn't see stray dogs in camp.  We still had a third set of guards to go through and I was certain they were going to stop him, but they just laughed and let him walk right on through. 

He followed us back to our work area and promptly passed out in a planter.  He spent a few more hours with us and then moved on his merry way.  I haven't seen him again, however, I still have a day full of memories.