Man's Best Freind

I came home Thursday night, strolled through the kitchen to the back door, as always, to check on my dog (Darth) Vader, and proceeded to watch that mutt kick the living sh*t out of whatever it was that fell out of the backyard tree. He had evidently been worrying the villainous intruder for quite a while, because as soon as Vader lost attention, for the split nano-second he acknowledged me, the tree hugger jumped down, and almost made it over the wooden fence. Oops! No such luck. (Thank you for playing. Tell him what his won Don Pardo!) My muddy mutt pulled from my grasp and tore that sucker up, whatever it was. Eventually, the varmint got loose, and dragged it's happy a** over or under the fence, thankful to be alive, and was free. I still don't know what it was. I don't care. I was proud of my dog's unrelenting  protection of his space. He showed no concern of the strength of the enemy. None. No thought of his own safety, or well-being, just primal instinct to protect his provider and his space. That's it.

This lack of self-regard caused me to think again of our selfless fighting men and women. This is, I think in essence, what they volunteer for and the ideal they strain and train to be: unrelenting protectors of their country, our backyards.

They volunteer to be dogs. Trained, disciplined dogs of war, Hoping, like any other dog that loves it's master or country, to be of use. In a dog's case, to fetch the bird, or herd the cattle, or protect it's master. In the case of the soldier, to take the hill, to hold the perimeter, or to root out the enemy wherever he may be, in short, to be an asset. Sure, a dog can't vocalize those desires, but if you have ever known and loved a dog, you can surely attest to the "willfulness to please" nature of man's best friend.

Disclaimer: While I certainly don't think of any soldier truly as a dog, or any animal, with some personal exceptions (you know who you are), I do admire the tenacity and audacity with which a soldier goes about their business. So, if any offense is taken to this analogy, please, rest assured that it is not my intention to offend, but to admire and to acknowledge the sacrifices given by those in service to our country.

Now, go hit the Valour-IT banner. Help those who, in the act of protecting us all, have given more than their fair share.

God Bless You All, you Dogs of War, you Protectors of Freedom.

HT Sharon for the photo of Vader.