Galva, Illinois – A K-9 dog who served four tours in the Mideast was laid to rest Wednesday, his handler by his side.
Freddie, a bomb-sniffing golden retriever, cleared the way for hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan.
“He’d be the lead dog, he’d walk in front of me to make sure other soldiers were safe,” Freddie’s handler Ryan Anderson told WQAD, hours before putting his best friend and comrade to sleep.
“It’s a day I’ve known that has always been coming for awhile. He’s been getting worse and worse. We went to the vet last week and I couldn’t do it. But I’m going back to the vet today. He’s in a lot of pain. I’m going to have him cremated, and get him a veteran’s urn,” Anderson said, holding back his tears.
“Many times in Afghanistan, it was just me and him, sleeping on a cot. Him keeping me warm. We slept in the same sleeping bag a lot of times. He’s always had my back, He’s my best friend, we toured together for 365 days,” said Anderson.
His 8 and 11 year old daughters considered Freddie family and bravely said goodbye.
