SEVERED TIES

“Please join me in honoring this very good girl, Allie, and in giving some comfort to her heartbroken former hander/adoptive dad, Anthony Marquez. They went through hell and back together in 2011 in Afghanistan’s Sangin Valley – still known as the bloodiest battleground in Afghanistan. Allie was part of the Marine Corps’ IDD  (IED Detector Dog) program, and Marquez was Allie’s first handler. Despite Allie’s great assistance, it was such a ferocious time there that Marquez lost 17 Marine buddies during his deployment. Just by virtue of being a devoted dog, Allie helped him and others punch through the gut-wrenching losses. At the end of Marquez’s deployment, he says the contract company in charge of dogs plucked Allie away from him within a half hour of returning. He didn’t get to say goodbye. She didn’t get a chance to adjust. It happened like this way too often with the temporary explosives detection dog programs. (This is not how the traditional military dog program works. If there are ever temporary dog programs in the future, this must not ever happen again.) Over the next few years Marquez couldn’t bring himself to check on what Allie was up to, where she was. It was too painful. But in 2014, when he learned the IDD program was ending, he inquired about her and jumped on the chance to adopt her. The story is chronicled in a beautiful short film I highly recommend: https://bit.ly/3Bi70xN. (Kleenex warning, but it’s worth it. You’ll really know their story if you watch it, and what better way to keep Allie’s memory alive.) They had seven happy years together, and as always happens, dogs never live long enough. Last month something went terribly awry within Allie’s aging body, and Marquez had to make the most difficult decision of his life. More than 100 people showed up to support him and Allie as they made their final heartbreaking walk together from their vehicle into the veterinary clinic. Marquez takes a knee for his 17 fallen Marines in a memorial in his house before bed every night. A new Marine has been added to the memorial. Let’s let him know we are with him.”