Many times, dogs play crucial roles at helping soldiers who are serving the country. Being deployed is not easy at all, so for many soldiers, the canines they meet and make friends with while at distant lands are the reason why they endure being separated from their loved ones.
One Vietnam veteran named Mike Monahan had his life saved by a dog named Chico some 50 years ago. Chico was originally from South Dakota but his owners sent him to Vietnam after they realized how overprotective he was and after he completed a Scout Dog Training in Georgia.
Unfortunately, after the war was over, Chico, and the rest of around 4,000 dogs were either abandoned or euthanized. Today, even years after saying the last goodbye, Mike still feels incredible guilt for leaving his furry companion behind.
For over a year now, Mike is writing a book about Chico’s life as seen from the dog’s perspective titled Chico’s Promise.
Speaking to WCPO, Mike shared a short extract of his book which is about to be published very soon. “Then one day Mike entered my kennel, took a knee, put his arms around me and said, ‘I love you, I love you boy. I’m sorry I can’t do anything about this, I love you boy take care of yourself. Goodbye Chico. Thanks for saving my life, I promise to never forget about what a hero you are in my eyes.’ Then I heard a voice say, ‘Monahan, time to go. Jeep’s waiting,’ and just like that it was over, once again I was all alone. Abandoned.”
The promise Mike made to Chico and to himself is to help save 50,000 dogs by covering the fees for their adoption.
In order to make this wish a reality, Mike will use the money from the book he’s writing. “My dream is that millions of people will read Chico’s story, fall in love with him, become inspired, and join forces to improve the treatment of dogs by eliminating abuse and abandonment.”
We hope he will achieve his goal and that many dogs will find their happy ending with loving families.