He initially thought that it was a child screaming for help, so he rushed over to see what he could do.
When he moved back the rubble, he realized that it was actually an adorable little puppy. He named her Barrie, as he thought she was a boy! But the name stuck, and little Barrie became the life and soul of the soldier’s camp in Syria.
She would greet the troops when they came back from a difficult day, and she even accompanied Sean out on certain patrols. In such sad and difficult times, it was incredible to learn that such a touching relationship was able to develop.
Sean went home on leave for a couple of weeks and had to leave Barrie behind. But as he was about to return, the situation in Syria became even worse, and he wasn’t permitted to travel. Devastated, he realized that he might not be reunited with Barrie unless he took some drastic action.
He contacted a charity called War Paws who supported Sean to get Barrie out of Syria safely and into Iraq. But it wasn’t easy to then transfer Barrie back to the UK, as Sean would quickly find out. The beautiful little dog had to spend a lonely three months in quarantine, before she was finally able to take a flight to Europe.
Sean drove from the UK to France to collect Barrie from Paris airport, but he was worried that she wouldn’t recognize the soldier who saved her. After all, they had gone several months without seeing one another, and she was all of a sudden thrust into a new environment.
But Sean was quickly relieved when Barrie took to him almost instantly, as she rolled over in the car park and let him stroke her belly.
As Sean admits in the video, he thinks that Barrie did more for him than he did for her. Her love and affection helped with his recovery, and did wonders for the other troops stationed away from their loved ones.
It just goes to show that even in the most inhospitable of places, love can be found! What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing, Sean!
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