Story:

When Captain Scott Eberlein and his unit were patrolling in the Diyala Province of Iraq, they came across a yellow puppy not more than three weeks old.  He was alone, dirty and starving.  The patrol, feeling sorry for the pup, pulled him into their Stryker.  With the help of an Army veterinarian and a lot of “TLC” from the guys in the unit, the puppy began to thrive.  They named the lucky pup Hammer, which is the company’s nickname, and obtained for him designation as a force protection canine.  “He was then one of us,” Captain Eberlein boasted.

In the course of his duty, Hammer sustained an injury to his right front leg.  A veterinarian set the leg, but when the cast came off the leg had not healed properly.  It was determined there was too much nerve damage to save Hammer’s leg.  With the help of a very special veterinarian, Hammer was taken to a combat army surgical hospital at a nearby forward operating base where a team of 12 medical professionals amputated Hammer’s leg.  Captain Eberlein was there the whole time to comfort his dog.

Being a four-legged dog in Iraq is tough enough, but the chances for a decent life when a dog has only three legs is pretty unlikely.  Therefore, the unit decided there was no way they could leave Hammer behind when it redeployed.  This wartime buddy had been a continuous source of hope and now, as he recovered from his injury, he was an even bigger inspiration.  Everyone that interacted with Hammer knew this dog deserved a forever home stateside.  Captain Eberlein agreed to give Hammer that home in Alaska with his family – a place quite different from Iraq to live.

“I could not imagine leaving this loyal, faithful and joyful friend behind,” Captain Eberlein explained in his initial email to SPCA International.  “For me, he was the best thing that came out of this war.”