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Third Group, Special Forces, Alpha Company, Third Battalion was now stationed in Iraq. In Afghanistan, their guard dog proved invaluable; now the unit needed another dog to keep them safe from Iraqi intruders.

On the streets of a city in northern Iraqi a scruffy, bony, homeless German Shepherd wandered aimlessly. His head and legs were covered with scars and he was missing several teeth. The emaciated dog had been beaten by his local owners. He needed a place to live, so Kurdish soldiers brought him to the Special Forces unit.

It was a perfect match - or so it seemed. Some of the soldiers didn't think this frail creature would be able to do the job. But Sergeant Russell Joyce knew better. He took over the animal's care, feeding, and training, and he gave the dog a good, American name - Fluffy.

Under the Sergeant's auspices, Fluffy soon changed from a scared, lethargic, haggard dog into a quick, bright guard dog. Twice he was involved in enemy attacks on the base he was trained to keep safe. The still slightly underweight dog also "convinced" several Iraqi POWs to tell all they knew. "He definitely looked after us," says Sergeant Joyce. "If any American walked guard, Fluffy would go right along with the soldier and stand right by him." He truly had
become a United States war dog - and a hero. But Russell's time in Iraq was drawing to a close. He was very happy to be going home, but he immediately thought of Fluffy.

The dog did not come with the American troops; he was still considered an Iraqi. Joyce was told if he could not find Fluffy a good, local home, the dog would have to be killed. The army waits for no man or dog; no matter what, Sergeant Joyce would have to return to Fort Bragg on May 10th. He didn't have much time, but he made provisions for Fluffy while trying to cut through the red tape blocking the way for the dog to come home.

One of the desperate emails Russell sent found its way to the computer of Ron Aiello, president of the US War Dogs Association and a Vietnam war dog handler. Ron called the Sergeant. "What I heard in his voice was something I heard hundreds of times from former military handlers from the Vietnam era. They talk about their canines to this day and the love and devotion we have for them," says Ron. "Russell had that same emotion about Fluffy."

Aiello wrote to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and set up a page in Fluffy's honor on the US War Dogs web site. In no time, Sergeant Joyce received emails from thousands of people and organizations - including North Shore Animal League America - and correspondence from 32 senators, all asking what they could do to help. Russell contacted Fluffy's interim caretakers, the 506 Security Forces Squadron in Iraq, and told them to be patient just a little longer.

But the Squadron knew what was happening as the Pentagon had already contacted them.Fluffy would become a very unusual exception to a military rule. He would be designated an honorary working military dog with honorary war dog status. In Washington, Army Deputy Division Chief Don Stump sliced through the red tape and then thirty high level military personnel signed off to transfer the brave dog to the United States. Operation Free Fluffy had come to a successful conclusion.

On June 7, Sergeant Russell Joyce, his wife Caroline, and his daughters Sam and Elise welcomed newly retired military dog Fluffy to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Since that day, Fluffy has become a very important member of the family and friend to all. But it
obvious to all that Fluffy has a special love for Sergeant Joyce. And the feeling is mutual. "I don't label him as a pet," says Russell. "He's my buddy."