After Surviving Iraqi Attack, Marine Gets To Keep Her War Dog

Then-Cpl. Megan Leavey, 22, of Valley Cottage, N.Y., stands with her bomb-sniffing dog, Rex, in a 2006 photo in Iraq

And, for a change, some nice news out of the military! Today Senator Chuck Schumer's office announced that the New York senator (and recent PPW bike rider) has arranged to reunite a Marine Corporal with her beloved soldier dog, Sergeant Rex. The two were injured together in Iraq in 2006 and now they can spend the rest of Rex's life in peace.

Marine Corporal Megan Leavey and war dog Sergeant Rex served in two deployments together in Iraq, working "together to save countless lives as they scoured the war’s most dangerous regions, uncovering deadly explosives, IEDs, weapons caches and suicide bombers. Both were severely injured in 2006 when insurgents detonated an IED at the side of the road they were patrolling. Marine Corporal Leavey was awarded the Purple Heart and a Combat Valor Medal, and the pair spent the next year recovering together from their injuries."

After they recovered, however, Leavey retired from the Marine Corps and tried to adopt Rex, but was unable to because he was still considered fit for duty. Now that he's ten though, the old dog can finally retire and—after an online push—Schumer's office has helped him find his way back to Leavey sooner rather than later.

"Rex and I went through a great deal together and I am just so grateful that we will be reunited again," Leavey said in a statment. “I want to thank Senator Schumer for all of his help getting this done and made public to help me adopt Rex. I also want to thank Randy and Mindy Levine of the NY Yankees for their generosity in providing transportation and medical coverage for Rex for the remainder of his life. And last, but definitely not least, I want to thank the Marine Corps and the Air Force for bringing the two of us together again and trusting that I will make sure Rex has the best home he could possibly have."

Is it dusty in here, or is that just us?