Welcome to the Shire

“He loves Minnesota. He thinks it’s one gigantic field of treats.”

That’s a statement Gwen Beberg gave to the press at her return to Spring Lake Park, Minnesota on January 17 when she was greeted by one of her bestest friends, Ratchet.

Completing her a tour of duty, Gwen is registered for fall classes at Northwestern Health Sciences University to study massage therapy. She also wants to train Ratchet to be a therapy dog.

Last year the army prevented Gwen from shipping her dog home from Iraq. One of her friends, Katie Konrath, wrote about this injustice on her blog Get Fresh Minds. It trickled into one hell of a global outcry. An outcry that the US Army couldn’t ignore.

I wish Gwen and Ratchet, and Katie Konrath the best of luck. May your futures be full of treats.

Our favorite rescue dog, Ratchet, has been living the good life in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota with Gwen Beberg’s parents.

He’s been having the time of his life. He’s discovered squirrels, snow, doorbells, frisbees, his reflection in the mirror - typical puppy stuff. He knows to bark to be let out for his *business* and he can retrieve his toys by name. Smart pup! He’s also been to the vet (that included neutering). He’s a happy boy!

Gwen Beberg is expected to arrive home in January. I hope we see another update of the happy reunion.

Such nice happy thoughts I have when I think of Ratchet. Maybe we’ll get to read the book????

In the photo above, Ratchet takes his last look at Iraq before boarding a plane for the USA.

Operation Baghdad Pups successfully loaded Ratchet on a plane on October 19th. He is now safely home in Minnesota with Gwen Beberg’s parents. The flight, from Kuwait to Dulles Airport to Minnesota, was donated by Northwest Airlines.

Thousands all over were on pins and needles regarding Ratchet’s plight.

This issue was originally blogged by Gwen’s college friend Katie Konrath at her website Get Fresh Minds. She reported to the Minnesota press that she hoped to rally the folks in Minnesota, but never expected the entire USA and half the world to get involved.

By the time this was all done, over 27,000 websites wrote about the story. Over 70,000 people from around the world had signed the petition to release Ratchet. God only knows how many calls and emails were made to the Army and the DOD. Also advocating for Ratchet’s clemency were the Minnesota Senators and Congressmen.

Let this be a lesson to us. If we all take other issues and fight like we did for Ratchet, the American public can take back the USA. Thinks about it folks, we took on the United States Army! They relented! We WON! What’s that say?

Saving Private Ratchet has been our *Happy Thought*. Best wishes to Gwen and Ratchet for a beautiful future.

Because the Army didn’t clear him fast enough he missed the plane. He got cleared 30 minutes before the Baghdad Pups team were to depart Baghdad which was not enough time. I can imagine what Gwen Beberg and her family must feel now.

Here is an update from WCCO.com. This is what the military had to say:

Maj. Daniel Elliott, a spokesman for U.S. forces south of Baghdad, said in a statement Wednesday that the military had no control of the dog.

“Our military working dogs carry rank and are afforded many of the rights and privileges of their fellow soldiers,” he said. “Ratchet is a wild dog indigenous to Iraq. A stray, befriended by a soldier. As such, we do not control him, nor can we ‘order’ him not to leave” the base.

Elliott added that there was nothing preventing SPCA from picking up the dog.

“The dog was at the COP yesterday, he was there today, he will more than likely be there tomorrow,” he said. “To my knowledge we are not holding, restraining or forcibly evacuating him.”

And Elliott said that the military won’t expose soldiers to “to unnecessary risks” by escorting Ratchet to the Baghdad airport.

But the military apparently assured SPCA International and Gwen’s mother, Patricia Beberg, that Ratchet is being watched. The SPCA made arrangements with a private security contractor to escort Ratchet to the airport.

Dear Major Elliott: All I can say is…if that dog is not safely put on an airplane on Sunday, the Military will have hell to pay at the hands of the American Public.

Finally, some decent coverage. Gwen and Ratchet have made CNN, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post, Great Britan, Australia, Romania, France, Italy, all over. Even the petition Clemency For Ratchet has reached over 30,000 signatures from people all over the world.

The blogosphere is heating up on this issue. If you go here at the For The Love of the Dog, you can read all the updates and comments regarding Gwen and Ratchet.

Today the military confirmed that Ratchet is alive. A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. David Russell, said in an e-mail that the dog was alive. However, he remained silent on any action to get Ratchet to the United States.

After Ratchet was returned to Gwen at her camp in Iraq after being *confiscated*, he went missing. She feared the worse. No one was giving her any information, not even her 1st Sargent. It turns out he was stuffed in a meat freezer. No one is sure if the intent was to hide Ratchet, “freeze him", or if the freezer was even working. Someone did release Ratchet from the freezer. The motive? Nobody knows. But I’d like to just offer my own fairy-tail-happy-ending. Some kind soul over there is trying to get Ratchet out of Iraq for Gwen. And not giving any hints and info along the way so the Big Bad Army Wolf doesn’t find out.

Operation Baghdad Pups will arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday (which is like, Wednesday there now) to pick up other soldier adopted animals and hopes to finally get Ratchet.