Weeks passed.
The dog’s wounds began to heal.
He would never be exactly as he had been before the attack.
One eye was gone.
His damaged ear remained a reminder of the explosion.
His reconstructed jaw told the story of just how close he had come to death.
But he was alive.
Eventually came the moment the soldiers had been waiting for.
Their K9 returned to the unit.
Imagine what that must have meant to the men standing there.
The last time many of them had seen him, the battlefield had been filled with smoke and confusion.
They had watched their dog suffer wounds received while protecting them.
Now he was walking back toward them.
According to the account, the entire unit stood silently for eight minutes.
No cheering.
No loud celebration.
Just soldiers standing in tribute before the animal who had given them everything he had.
The silence may have said more than any speech could.
