Every so often, I get the opportunity to hop on a plane and fly to a new part of the world to “work.” Earlier this week, I enjoyed a tight squeeze in the middle seat for the 2 hour flight to Wisconsin to photograph the most wonderful family. I have never worked with such well-mannered brothers – the 2-year-old and his furry brothers were a joy and I was sad when the quick 48 hour trip was over.
Holly and I met in North Carolina where our husbands were both stationed. We shared a couple of year there with a group of young wives, and soon-to-be-moms, growing up with only each other to rely on. We both left NC to move back to our home states nearly 3 years ago and hadn’t seen each other since! The talking didn’t stop for hours… here’s a little about this wonderful bunch…
Their original baby is a spirited ‘chiweenie” named Max. You can’t really call him a dog, because he is very much a person in a small, furry body. Once slow to warm-up, he nearly leapt from the ground straight into my arms when I walked in the door!
Baby #2 is Xander. This blue-eyed charmer loves trucks, trains and construction equipment of all varieties. His favorite food is pancakes and hotdogs with syrup for breakfast and his easy smiles made me melt!
Travis and Holly are both working and going to school full-time. After separating from the Marine Corps, Travis looks forward to being a Physical Therapist and Holly will be a Dentist when they are finished with their degrees. I can imagine their heads are spinning most days as they shuffle from class to work to daycare for drop-offs and pick-ups. I know they welcomed this summer’s break! Through it all they are amazing parents and loving spouses to each other.
Then, there is Cash – that is Sgt. Cash II, USMC, Ret.
Travis was excited to be assigned a dog-handler just before he deployed to Afghanistan, but I don’t think he even knew what a special relationship this would be.
Cash had already been deployed once when they left for this tour. Travis didn’t want Cash to have to be on a lead in case the dog needed to be able to escape quickly – so he literally slept with the dog as his pillow for months on end. Besides all of the “normal” threats that come with being in a war zone – having the largest dog in the battalion, there was the worry of the heat. These dogs will not stop working without the command to do so – even when it’s 140 degrees.
After many long months, the Marines and their dogs returned. In the same day, the handlers said good-bye to their four-legged companions and returned to the arms of their families. I can only imagine it was a day they looked forward to and dreaded with every fiber of their being. There was no guarantee that Travis would ever see Cash again. It was just over a month later that Xander was born.
As soon as he could, Travis started calling to see what was in Cash’s future – he wanted to be sure that the training facility knew if there was every a chance that Cash would be retired, that they would be together.
Months passed, Travis EASed and they moved from North Carolina back to Wisconsin. A few weeks went by and at dinner, his cell phone rang with an unknown number… He even debated whether to answer it. That was the call – Cash is retiring and needs a forever home – he’s yours if you want him! He immediately bought a plan ticket back to NC, flew in without knowing exactly where he was going and went to the rental car office at the airport to make the 70 mile drive to the facility that houses the dogs. By many standards he is old – old enough to be a husband, a father, a veteran of war – but at 23, he wasn’t old enough to rent a car. After flying more than 800 miles, he had just a hours drive left and they would make no exception to let him rent a car. Visibly upset, someone asked him what was wrong and he told the miraculous story about getting his dog back at long last. And then the next miracle happened, a manager or executive from the rental office overheard and pulled some strings to get him a car and off he went…
Reunited with Cash, they still had the flight home. As a service dog, he never left Travis’ side through security and straight onto the plane. In a packed flight, the whole row had to move their legs to accommodate Cash under their feet – protected by federal law, he rides as a passenger – never as cargo.
At home, Cash is a seamless part of the family – loved by each of them as though he’s always been there. He’s spending his retirement smothered in treats, going on hiking and swimming adventures, unlimited games of fetch with his Kong and generally given more love than some humans see in a lifetime.
Not to be outdone, Max had to show us that even non-bomb-dogs can be outrageously talented. As I was ready to leave for the airport to head home, I mentioned I wanted to get a few pictures of the sheep that share their property – but they were all in the barn. Max scoots under the fence and takes-off, nearly in flight, barking and circling until the last sheep had arrived at the fence. Good dog!
