This is a letter sent to The Puppy Rescue Mission from a Marines wife. They have a ChipIn Donation Widget for Bam Bam right here, plus other ways you can donate to help them with Bam Bam and other dogs.

— Kenn Bell

Bam Bam was taken in as a couple week old puppy when a local child abandoned him in the middle of the road, after unsuccessfully trying to sell him to people in the area. Not only was he in poor health but he also had physical injuries, including a large cut on his nose and other signs of potential abuse.

Marines took him in, though they didn’t think he was going to survive the next couple of days. They were able to slowly nurse him back to health through feeding him applesauce and powdered milk out of their MREs.

After a couple of months my husband began taking him out on patrols. He was surprised to see how quickly Bam Bam adapted to being outside of base as well as how protective he was of my husband’s squad. The area they are deployed to is notorious for having aggressive stray dogs that have tried to attack people before. Whenever they come in contact with these dogs, Bam Bam has taken on the role of being the barrier and the protector between the strays and the Marines. One of his tactics is to distract the dogs until the Marines have passed. He does this by attempting to play with them, and once the Marines are safe, Bam Bam will run ahead to continue in front of the guys and be on the lookout for any more potential dangers.

During night patrols, he’ll bark and alert the Marines if a person is approaching them. After “working” for such a long amount of the day/night, his carefree attitude comes into play when he runs off as they approach the base and comes back with some sort of stick, leaf, or “toy” as his treat for finishing his workday. If he’s feeling extra generous, he sometimes will find a bone and give it as a gift to my husband. He then spends the rest of time sleeping comfortably half-on and half-off of his chair or my husbands rack!

One day when they were doing vehicle searches for a few hours, Bam Bam began playing and running around with some friendly, local dogs. When it came time for the Marines to head back, he was no where to be found. Unfortunately for security reasons they weren’t able to spend time looking for him and had to head back to base. My husband was devastated and everyone was extremely upset. They were relieved in the middle of the night when everyone was awakened by Bam Bam barking outside the base wanting to be let it. He had walked the 3+ miles back to base all by himself!!!!!

One of the things that amazes the Marines is how carefree Bam Bam is. He doesn’t have the life of a normal dog and the conditions they stay in aren’t the best but Bam Bam never shows it. As long as he’s with his Marines, he’s happy and content. He is such a morale booster for everyone and he helps make the deployment a little easier.

Bam Bam is affectionate, playful, social and most of all loyal. This is why it’s hard for my husband to turn his back on his dog when Bam Bam needs him the most. No one will be taking over for my husband’s unit once their deployment is over. Bam Bam will be left to fend for himself once they leave. He will have no one to take care of him, love him or appreciate his personality. My husband will have to turn his back on him even though Bam Bam has always been there for him and knowing that this dog deserves so much better!