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Hope Persists For Iraqi Pup

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2008

Updated: 10/15/2008 12:33 am

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi puppy adopted by an American soldier but refused a flight to the United States, is alive, the military said Tuesday, giving hope to an animal rescue group that is trying to take it to the United States.

The case has cast a spotlight on Defense Department rules that prohibit soldiers in the U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, from adopting pets or transporting them home.

Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis tried to send Ratchet home with the help of Operation Baghdad Pups earlier this month as she prepared to leave Iraq. But the dog was reportedly confiscated by a U.S. officer before it could reach the Baghdad International Airport.

More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let the puppy go home with Beberg.

The coordinator for Operation Baghdad Pups - a rescue program run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International - planned to travel to Baghdad today to collect six dogs rescued by U.S. troops.

Beberg and another soldier rescued Ratchet from a burning pile of trash in May.

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