Six weeks ago, Army Spc. Alec Alcoser, 22, and his working dog, Alex, were on patrol just outside Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan when a young man approached.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, two Afghan and three Czech soldiers stepped between Alcoser and the young Afghan to conduct a search. Alcoser called Alex back, bending down to get a cigarette. Then, a flash. Alex yelped. A firefight erupted. The dog and the soldier stayed together.

“I would yell at him and his ears would twitch, but he wouldn’t look at me,” Alcoser said in the Army Times. He calls San Antonio home. “I think he was in a state of shock. He didn’t growl, he didn’t bark, he didn’t cry. He stayed right there.”

Last week, the pair were reunited at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System’s Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center. Alcoser was emotional. Alex licked his face. The last time they had seen one another they were in Washington, D.C., where both received the Purple Heart.

This time, though, if all goes as planned, the pair will be together for good.

Alcoser was 6.5 months into a nine-month deployment when the suicide bomber attack occurred. On days off, they shared a bed. On duty days, they shared rituals.

“On a day with a mission, we’d wake up, I would give him a doggie treat and I would have some ice cream before we went out, and when we got back, we usually slept,” Alcoser recalled.

“That was a normal day for me and Alex out there,” he said, adding that a taste for sweets was born of his association with troops in special operations forces. “It was kind of their thing to eat a sweet because you never know if that’s going to be your last when you go out.”

The Aug. 5 left Alcoser with shrapnel wounds, broken bones and a mild traumatic brain injury, but doctors say he escaped without any loss in cognitive ability. Alex lost his back left leg. Both are learning how to get around again.

The shrapnel wounds cover about 30 percent of Alcoser’s body, most in his lower extremities. Its emergence is a slow and painful process. Both his arms and legs were broken, among other bones. He uses a cane or a walker. Alex limps sometimes, too.

There are goals to reduce the vet’s dependence on pain meds and in time get him well enough to start work at the Center for the Intrepid at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.

“They’re estimating about four to six months, and so I’m already a month and almost half in, and I’m already walking, so I think I’m going to beat that time,” he said. “Either way, the doctors say I have a pretty good chance of making a full recovery, and that’s all that matters. I’ve got to get back to my dog. That’s the important part.”

Multiple surgeries over the past several weeks make medical memories hazy. There is lots of rehab in his future. Alex, who is 8 and a half, was trained to detect explosives and corner suspects who try to run and hide, doesn’t realize he’s retired.

He tried to search a car after arriving at Audie Murphy VA Hospital.

“When they’re old and retired, they still don’t know they’re not supposed to work,” said Regina Johnson, a retired Army dog handler who works in the Defense Department’s DoD Military Working Dog Breeding Program at Lackland.

Alcoser is not daunted by the frustrations of learning to walk again. He has wife, Misty, and an infant son. His mother, who lives in Houston, drives to the hospital to visit every weekend. In time, he’d like to return to his post at Fort Drum, New York. He’d like to be a Sergeant one day.

He thinks on fallen brothers often. The Afghans and Czechs took the worst of what the suicide bomber brought. Though the former survived, the Czechs were killed instantly.

“There’s no point in being mad or sad or anything like that. I’ve got to live through the people who died for me, so they give me a lot of strength,” he said. “And Alex ain’t complaining, so I don’t think I should, either. His injuries are a little worse than mine,” Alcoser said.

“A lot of people call him a dog, but I think he’s a little more than that. He’s a soldier.”

Ninei’s story started as a sad one, but the we here at LWD (along with her advocates at Saving Paws Rescue Arizona!) are determined to turn that around.

Ninei is a beautiful, sweet, loving, 9-year-old German shepherd dog who was dumped at a high-kill shelter because her family was moving. She had spent her whole life with that family and was understandably frightened and confused with this sudden change. As a new grantee from the Grey Muzzle Organization, the folks at Saving Paws just couldn’t let this beautiful girl get overlooked!

From the rescue:

Ninei is the most adorable, fluffiest girl you’ll ever meet. She loves everyone and appreciates hanging out with her people and resting in a comfy dog bed. Her foster parents say she does great with their male GSD. She’s a social and mellow girl, yet her inner-pup still shines through at playtime. She loves going for walks, starting out fast and energetic, then slowing up after about a mile.

She appears to be fine around older children and other dogs, although we’re not sure how she would react to cats

She knows some commands and is a very well-behaved girl. It helps that she is treat-driven, which makes training super easy. She has the face of an angel and the sweetest expressions.

Saving Paws only adopts within their home state of Arizona. If you live there and are interested in showing Ninei that senior girls deserve EXTRA love and attention, please complete their online application to get the process started. http://www.savingpawsrescueaz.org/dogs/

Let’s help find this gorgeous girl a forever family.

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The Lugdon family of Wallagrass, ME, had a surprise visitor last week, one who bonded quite well with their dog, Leo.

Shannon Lugdon operates Lugdon Lodge, an adventure camp, and spotted a moose calf on her property. She named the little female Maggie, but was advised by wardens to leave her alone for 24 hours, as sometimes mother moose will wander and return to her offspring.

Alas, mom never came back.

The next morning, Lugdon went looking for Maggie and her dog, Leo, found her quickly.

“I let Leo out to do his business and he walked right over and Miss Maggie and Leo became fast friends,” Lugdon wrote in a Facebook post. “You can’t imagine how affectionate she was.”

Baby Maggie was eventually picked up by a biologist and taken to the Maine Wildlife Park, but not before enjoying a “milkshake” (a veterinarian told Lugdon to feed her some Lactaid) and snuggle time with Leo and the rest of the Lugdon family.