When a sniper’s bullet struck Pfc. Colton Rusk, the first to reach his body was his best friend Eli – a bomb-sniffing, black Labrador so loyal he snapped at other Marines who rushed to his fallen handler.

The two were inseparable. Military dogs are supposed to sleep in kennels when deployed, but Rusk broke the rules and let Eli curl up with him on his cot. Other times, the dog took up the entire sleeping bag. Rusk ate ready-to-eat meals, so that’s what Eli ate instead of dog food, Darrell Rusk said.

“Whatever is mine is his,” Colton Rusk wrote on his Facebook page.

After Rusk died Dec. 6, his parents decided they wanted to adopt his dog. They picked Eli up Thursday at Lackland Air Force to take him back to their home in rural South Texas. It was only the second time that a U.S. military dog has been adopted by the family of a handler killed in combat.

(via jujuclark)

Post source:

Share this post:

Notes:

1. cowgirlupdustyourselfoff reblogged this from ashl3yl0uis3
2. rosiegotplayed reblogged this from ladymanwifeboi
3. denstandigaresan liked this
4. miraclemax339 reblogged this from ladymanwifeboi
5. ladymanwifeboi reblogged this from andthenicarriedyou26
6. c--breezy liked this
7. malefiscent reblogged this from taracoxxx
8. jmahaney24 reblogged this from shethinksshemissedthetraintomars
9. breatheslowly-livefreely reblogged this from ohheydanii
10. taracoxxx reblogged this from thisismylifebitches
11. sophianuccio3 reblogged this from 1234marinescorps
12. ashleyitsanewyorkthing reblogged this from myheroincamo
13. fearlessfaith14 reblogged this from algaaabs
14. rubenesquerose liked this
15. rubenesquerose reblogged this from hello-cityy
16. booksforsoldiers reblogged this from camowearincountrylovin
17. five-feet-of-fabulous liked this
18. ochoa94 reblogged this from neatlittledomesticlife
19. neatlittledomesticlife reblogged this from thecl0ckwisewitness
20. thecl0ckwisewitness reblogged this from mikeyflems
21. shyguy1009 reblogged this from twiztidcountryprincess
22. squizzsinn reblogged this from twiztidcountryprincess
23. mockingcrux liked this
24. twiztidcountryprincess reblogged this from camowearincountrylovin and added:

    this made me tear up

25. shendo198 reblogged this from hello-cityy
26. transformrollout94 reblogged this from trobelthebrobel
27. algaaabs reblogged this from megandejan
28. mycuppiecake reblogged this from hello-cityy
29. valen-096 reblogged this from danielaaellaa
30. scootypuffsjr reblogged this from trobelthebrobel
31. someonelikeyou321 reblogged this from heavy-ceiling
32. illbesomebodydifferent liked this
33. heavy-ceiling reblogged this from ilovemy-airman
34. trobelthebrobel reblogged this from thenamessavvy
35. sicksideprincess liked this
36. ilovemy-airman reblogged this from mltrygf
37. thenamessavvy reblogged this from hello-cityy
38. tay-nicole liked this
39. certifiedfuckupp reblogged this from hello-cityy
40. hello-cityy reblogged this from hernamewastruth
41. theunpreparedset liked this
42. klust3rfuk reblogged this from fuckyeahteamamerica
43. cryforhelp reblogged this from caffeine-in-my-veins
44. if-youre-a-bird-im-a-bird1 reblogged this from xohisgirlxo
45. xohisgirlxo reblogged this from mylifebelike-oorah
46. letusloseourselves reblogged this from shooter-wolf
47. shooter-wolf reblogged this from bradliethebradster
48. girlwithachevytruck reblogged this from jackdanielskickedmyass
49. girlwithachevytruck liked this
50. hearttoobig reblogged this from bulls-broncs-and-beer
51. Show more notesLoading...