Man's best friend

The Dogs of War:

When he came to, the Marine's arm hung lamely. It was broken by ball bearings hurled so hard from a suicide bomb that they also became embedded in his gun. Yet Brendan Poelaert's thoughts quickly turned to his patrol dog.

The powerful Belgian Malinois named Flapoor had served him as partner and protector for the past four months in Iraq. Now, the dog staggered a few steps along the Ramadi street, then stared blankly. Blood poured from his chest.

"I didn't care about my injuries," his handler says. "I'm telling the medic, 'I got to get my dog to the vet!'"

Hanky warning for this last part:

Regardless of war's dangers, these dogs are fearless. For them, checking a road for bombs means a fun walk, their handlers say. "They like what they do," said Poelaert, who has returned to Exeter, N.H.

These days, he's trying to move beyond memories of the Ramadi explosion, which killed dozens of people, including his best friend, fellow handler Adam Cann.

But one image still inspires him: the sight of Cann's wounded dog stretched over his body —- to protect him.