An adult male holding a light brown and white puppy amidst damaged urban buildings, overcast late autumn or winter day with bare trees. 5:58
BFBS Forces News channel icon BFBS Forces NewsOriginal creator 66K views Save

Puppy from Syrian rubble still knows her rescuer

In the rubble of a building in Syria, Sean Laidlaw heard a whimper. A scared puppy was trapped in the debris, all by herself. more

Sean, a British Army veteran, was there as a private contractor with a bomb disposal team. He got the puppy out, but trust took longer. She was with him for three days before she could trust him.

A person in gloves gently holds a small puppy trapped under debris and a broken structure. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Sean heard a scared puppy crying in a ruined building and reached in for her.

He called her Barrie because at first he couldn't tell if the puppy was a boy or a girl. Once he knew, the name stuck anyway.

After that, Barrie followed him everywhere. She went along on jobs and loved to travel, riding in the passenger seat when they went to Raqqa.

A small dog with white fur and dark patches looks up, wearing a collar and a chain leash, next to a vehicle. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Barrie tagged along on Sean's jobs and rode up front when they went to Raqqa.

The rescue ran both ways. She was there when he got back from work, and she kept his mind off the worst parts of it. Sean credits her with helping him keep his sanity.

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Barrie helped Sean keep his mind off the worst parts of his work.

Then Sean took a short trip home to the United Kingdom. When he tried to go back, he learned his contract had been canceled. Barrie was still in Syria, and he had no way to get to her.

He couldn't leave her there. Sean asked a charity called War Paws for help. It works with animals in war-torn countries, and getting her out took three flights, from Syria to Iraq, from Iraq to Jordan, and from Jordan to Paris.

Sean traveled to Paris to meet her. They had been apart a long time, and the puppy had grown up. He worried she might not remember him.

An adult male holding a light brown and white puppy amidst damaged urban buildings, overcast late autumn or winter day with bare trees. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
In the rubble of a building in Syria, Sean Laidlaw heard a whimper.

He had it all wrong. In the end Barrie recognized him, and the reunion was an emotional one. The puppy who once whimpered alone in the rubble was back with her favorite human, and she was happy to be there.

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