Four years ago, Army Spc. Justin A. Rollins died when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq.
One of the things that was any consolation to his family, was a picture of him, taken the night before he died.
He was smiling, holding a cute little puppy his squad had rescued, and his family took solace, in knowing he experienced a moment of joy just before his untimely end.
The family knew what they must do: They had to take one of those dogs home.
So now, four years after Justin’s death, one of those puppies, Hero, lives a spoiled-rotten lifestyle with the Rollins family.
Rollin’s girlfriend, to whom he planned to propose, said:
“Hero slept in Justin’s bed with me the first night she was home, and we did that for months. It eased the pain. Animals do that.”
Justin’s mother said:
“He held her, and now I get to hold her. When I look at her, she reminds me of the son that I lost.”
Justin’s father said:
“Justin would never talk about the lives he took, but he would talk about the lives he saved all day long.
This dog, to us, is the last life that he ever saved. It’s our last living link to him that we have. She’s incredibly important to the family.”
Animals are absolutely amazing.
Now excuse us… we need to get a tissue.
[Image courtesy Animal Planet.]
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