Dog Day Afternoon

Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

Hell no, I won't go
--Vietnam war protest

I won't be doggone,
I'll be long gone
--I'll Be Doggone, Marvin Gaye

Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit
--A Dog Has Died, Pablo Neruda
________________

Photo caption:

Basco from Patrol Explosive Detector Dog (PEDD) of US Airforce refuses to go inside a tunnel as US sergeant Matthew Templet from 627 Security Forces Squadran, Joint Base Lewis McChord coax him to seek for possible explosives in an abandoned house in Loya Derah village during a clearance patrol in Zari district of Kandahar province on December 28, 2010.

US Army soldiers patrol the abondoned villages in Zari district to re-clear the area from the explosives as the Afghan villagers have started moving back to their homes. The residents left their village about three years ago when it turned into a battlefield against Talibans.

There is a reason Basco won't go. This dog is no dummy -- he knows there are no Milk Bones in that hole. (Don't we hire these dogs to guide us? He's telling us something!) It seems Basco is smarter than his handlers.

BTB: Why is an Air Force Sergeant on a combat patrol?

[Update 1.18.11: Dog handler Sgt. Zainah Caye Creamer, 28, was killed in Afghanistan 1.12.11. Her dog, Jofa, reportedly survived.]