Banishment to be banned?
Albany Mayor Willie Adams’ insistence that three-time drug offenders be banished from Dougherty County is being ignored by Chief Dougherty Superior Court Judge Loring Gray, who refuses to hoist our problems on another community. Besides, doing so may soon be illegal. The Georgia Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of banishment as it contemplates a Douglas County case in which a convicted stalker is prohibited from living with every Georgia County except Toombs while on probation.
High on … dung?
Hopefully you’re not eating, but you need to know this: Without question, the grossest thing you’ll ever read in this newspaper; Folks, drug addicts are getting high off on excrement. That’s right; they take raw sewage (it may or may not be their own), and they inhale it. Yep, effluent has street value. No dung. A respected local narcotics investigator told us about jenkem, this not-necessarily-so-new drug that is suddenly the topic of water cooler fodder in narcotics divisions throughout the country. Yep, the Apocolypse just may be here. But you needed to know.
Coat drive in final push
Got one warm coat to donate? Central Monitoring is wrapping up its second annual One Warm Coat drive, which benefits clients of agencies served by the Food Bank of Southwest Georgia . New and gently used coats are being collected through Jan. 31 at these and other locations: Any of Dougherty County’s 11 fire stations; Central Monitoring, 522 Pine Ave.; Regions Bank; Security Bank; Albany Bank & Trust; AmerisBank; WALB-TV; WFXL-TV; The Albany Herald; and the Albany Mall’s University Gifts & Apparel. Also, coats will be collected at the King Day Celebration on Monday at the Albany Civic Center . Info: 434-1176.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Albany Beat
Bishop, Bowling Big; Taylor Not
Georgia Trend magazine has left the “Big Guy” off its 2008 most-powerful list. Georgia ’s leading magazine and politics and the economy says U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, who calls Albany and Columbus home, and Annette Bowling, the Albany Advocacy Resource Center executive director, are among Georgia’s most 100 influential residents. Notably not on the list is a former perennial Georgia Trend honoree – former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor of Albany.
Georgia Trend magazine has left the “Big Guy” off its 2008 most-powerful list. Georgia ’s leading magazine and politics and the economy says U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, who calls Albany and Columbus home, and Annette Bowling, the Albany Advocacy Resource Center executive director, are among Georgia’s most 100 influential residents. Notably not on the list is a former perennial Georgia Trend honoree – former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor of Albany.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Albany Beat
Lott headed out?
If Albany City Manager Alfred Lott keeps his word (we know, we know), he’s in the homestretch of his first stint as a top administrator. Lott declared after being hired in September 2005 that he would stay in Albany for three years and that he then would, as it puts it, “graduate” to a bigger and better public management gig. How’s Lott, who was hired in September 2005, doing so far? Who knows? The City Commission has breached its contractual responsibility to appraise the city manager’s performance each year.
‘Fireproof’ on Dove’s A-list
Sherwood Baptist Church ’s new production, “Fireproof,” lured The Dove Foundation CEO Dick Rolfe to the movie set this month. Dove is a nonprofit advocacy organization committed to moving Hollywood in a more family-friendly direction. “The success of movies like ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ’ made Hollywood sit up and take notice that there was a huge audience being underserved,” Rolfe told the San Francisco Chronicle after his Albany visit. “Fireproof” follows the Sherwood hit “Facing the Giants,” which cost $100,000 to make and brought in $14 million. Rolfe and other parents started the Grand Rapids , Mich. , Dove Foundation in 1991 to create a guide to what they consider “safe” family viewing. Rolfe says the organization’s Website (http://www.dove.org/) garners 2 million hits a month. “We have as much or more experience than most organizations do in reaching American families,” Rolfe says, “and we have sensitivity to what they're looking for in the way of entertainment.”
Must-see TV on at 7 , too
Like news? We do, too. That’s why we’re celebrating WALB-TV’s expansion – so to speak – of its news coverage. The Albany NBC affiliate’s 6 p.m. news is now rebroadcast at 7 p.m. on Mediacom cable channel 26. Since WALB now also broadcasts the 24/7 Weather Channel over the air, it can be picked up by antenna, too.
Albany’s new jet service
DayJet Corp. is expanding its on-demand business travel airline service network to Albany and 27 other new destinations in Georgia , Florida , Alabama and Mississippi . The 5-year-old company’s network expansion follows the October launch of the company's jet service in Tallahassee. Other cities that can be booked by the airline are: Brunswick , Savannah , Valdosta and Waycross , Ga. ; Boca Raton, Daytona Beach, Destin, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Leesburg, Melbourne, Miami/Opa-Locka, Naples, Ocala, West Palm Beach, Panama City, Pensacola, Punta Gorda, Sanford, Sarasota, Sebring, St. Augustine, and St. Petersburg ; Dothan , Fairhope and Mobile , Ala. ; and Pascagoula , Miss.
Paying to fight crime
Conceding that it might not be able to be done, Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington is asking residents of his community to put up or shut up about fighting crime. A former police chief who ran a law-and-order campaign before being elected in 2006, Wetherington is asking business leaders to support his request that voters pay an extra penny in sales tax – mostly to pay for public safety. Under Wetherington’s plan, which hasn’t been presented to the City Council, a July referendum would be held. While the bulk of the tax would fund public safety, roads and infrastructure also would be financed with the extra penny, which would raise about $36 million a year and increase Columbus ’ sales tax to 8 percent. “I want to put more police downtown, more police on the Riverwalk, more police in the parks. I want to build new precincts,” Wetherington told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “With all of the broth, we are not prepared in the Public Safety Department to deal with it.”
‘Como esta?’ ‘You’re fired!’
Here’s one piece of federal legislation that will not – it had better not, anyway – get anywhere when Congress reconvenes. In his “Common Sense English Act,” Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell) proposes to amend the Civil Rights Act to allow employers to require workers to speak English while on the job. “English is the language that unites our society and keeps our economy,” Price said in a statement. “Denying employers the right to promote our national language in the workplace only encourages division and creates troublesome misunderstandings.” We figure that Price must think that the U.S. Constitution begins, “We, the English-speaking people of the United States …”
Who’s in your wallet?
Do you know where your Social Security number is? Chances are pretty good a thief does, as it probably is in the hands of every insurance company you've ever had, your bank, your credit card companies, your doctor, the hospital where you had surgery, your student loan company, your university admissions office, and on and on and on. With identity theft now directly affecting 1 in 4 Americans, an online petition drive has started to enable Americans to tell Congress that their SSN is theirs – and should be protected. Info: http://go.care2.com/e/xsUe-R1o2/ADR9b.
If Albany City Manager Alfred Lott keeps his word (we know, we know), he’s in the homestretch of his first stint as a top administrator. Lott declared after being hired in September 2005 that he would stay in Albany for three years and that he then would, as it puts it, “graduate” to a bigger and better public management gig. How’s Lott, who was hired in September 2005, doing so far? Who knows? The City Commission has breached its contractual responsibility to appraise the city manager’s performance each year.
‘Fireproof’ on Dove’s A-list
Sherwood Baptist Church ’s new production, “Fireproof,” lured The Dove Foundation CEO Dick Rolfe to the movie set this month. Dove is a nonprofit advocacy organization committed to moving Hollywood in a more family-friendly direction. “The success of movies like ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ’ made Hollywood sit up and take notice that there was a huge audience being underserved,” Rolfe told the San Francisco Chronicle after his Albany visit. “Fireproof” follows the Sherwood hit “Facing the Giants,” which cost $100,000 to make and brought in $14 million. Rolfe and other parents started the Grand Rapids , Mich. , Dove Foundation in 1991 to create a guide to what they consider “safe” family viewing. Rolfe says the organization’s Website (http://www.dove.org/) garners 2 million hits a month. “We have as much or more experience than most organizations do in reaching American families,” Rolfe says, “and we have sensitivity to what they're looking for in the way of entertainment.”
Must-see TV on at 7 , too
Like news? We do, too. That’s why we’re celebrating WALB-TV’s expansion – so to speak – of its news coverage. The Albany NBC affiliate’s 6 p.m. news is now rebroadcast at 7 p.m. on Mediacom cable channel 26. Since WALB now also broadcasts the 24/7 Weather Channel over the air, it can be picked up by antenna, too.
Albany’s new jet service
DayJet Corp. is expanding its on-demand business travel airline service network to Albany and 27 other new destinations in Georgia , Florida , Alabama and Mississippi . The 5-year-old company’s network expansion follows the October launch of the company's jet service in Tallahassee. Other cities that can be booked by the airline are: Brunswick , Savannah , Valdosta and Waycross , Ga. ; Boca Raton, Daytona Beach, Destin, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Leesburg, Melbourne, Miami/Opa-Locka, Naples, Ocala, West Palm Beach, Panama City, Pensacola, Punta Gorda, Sanford, Sarasota, Sebring, St. Augustine, and St. Petersburg ; Dothan , Fairhope and Mobile , Ala. ; and Pascagoula , Miss.
Paying to fight crime
Conceding that it might not be able to be done, Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington is asking residents of his community to put up or shut up about fighting crime. A former police chief who ran a law-and-order campaign before being elected in 2006, Wetherington is asking business leaders to support his request that voters pay an extra penny in sales tax – mostly to pay for public safety. Under Wetherington’s plan, which hasn’t been presented to the City Council, a July referendum would be held. While the bulk of the tax would fund public safety, roads and infrastructure also would be financed with the extra penny, which would raise about $36 million a year and increase Columbus ’ sales tax to 8 percent. “I want to put more police downtown, more police on the Riverwalk, more police in the parks. I want to build new precincts,” Wetherington told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “With all of the broth, we are not prepared in the Public Safety Department to deal with it.”
‘Como esta?’ ‘You’re fired!’
Here’s one piece of federal legislation that will not – it had better not, anyway – get anywhere when Congress reconvenes. In his “Common Sense English Act,” Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell) proposes to amend the Civil Rights Act to allow employers to require workers to speak English while on the job. “English is the language that unites our society and keeps our economy,” Price said in a statement. “Denying employers the right to promote our national language in the workplace only encourages division and creates troublesome misunderstandings.” We figure that Price must think that the U.S. Constitution begins, “We, the English-speaking people of the United States …”
Who’s in your wallet?
Do you know where your Social Security number is? Chances are pretty good a thief does, as it probably is in the hands of every insurance company you've ever had, your bank, your credit card companies, your doctor, the hospital where you had surgery, your student loan company, your university admissions office, and on and on and on. With identity theft now directly affecting 1 in 4 Americans, an online petition drive has started to enable Americans to tell Congress that their SSN is theirs – and should be protected. Info: http://go.care2.com/e/xsUe-R1o2/ADR9b.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Albany Beat
Retiring Lex -- in style
Amid much pomp and circumstances – and on live television, to boot – Cpl. Dusty Lee’s beloved canine partner, Lex, will retire on Friday from Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany. Lt. Caleb Eames, a Marine spokesman, says he has fielding lots of media requests, including some from some national television networks, to cover Lex’s 8:30 a.m. retirement ceremony. Following a national petition derive and a North Carolina ’s intervention in the matter, Lex is being adopted by Quitman , Miss. , residents Jerome and Rachel Lee, parents of Dusty Lee, who was slain March 21 by combat mortar in Iraq . Lex was wounded during the attack, but recovered and returned to duty. Lex, who turns 8 this month, will become the first U.S. military dog adopted by the family of a deceased handler, military officials say.
Amid much pomp and circumstances – and on live television, to boot – Cpl. Dusty Lee’s beloved canine partner, Lex, will retire on Friday from Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany. Lt. Caleb Eames, a Marine spokesman, says he has fielding lots of media requests, including some from some national television networks, to cover Lex’s 8:30 a.m. retirement ceremony. Following a national petition derive and a North Carolina ’s intervention in the matter, Lex is being adopted by Quitman , Miss. , residents Jerome and Rachel Lee, parents of Dusty Lee, who was slain March 21 by combat mortar in Iraq . Lex was wounded during the attack, but recovered and returned to duty. Lex, who turns 8 this month, will become the first U.S. military dog adopted by the family of a deceased handler, military officials say.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Albany Beat
A hundred grand from Bishop
An interesting U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop campaign strategy has caught the attention of the authors of Political Insider, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s daily political blog. Bishop recently donated $100,000 from his campaign treasury to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to assist “less secure candidates,” the Insider noted, as Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantsville has done for Republicans. The difference: No challengers have stepped up to oppose Bishop’s 2008 re-election bid, while Westmoreland has two Democratic challengers. “While other Georgia politicians are scratching for extra campaign cash to fund their 2008 races – Rep. Jim Marshall, a Macon Democrat, comes to mind – Bishop and Westmoreland’s checks make sense,” the Insider noted. “Giving to the campaign committees is a must-do for veteran house leaders like Bishop, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. More importantly for Westmoreland, giving big bucks to the committees is a way of winning friends that any
future House leaders would need.”
Stocking stuffer: A great read
The book everyone interested in Lee County has been waiting for is finally on the shelves – just in time for Christmas. The Lee County Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that it will release the historical collection, “The Caboose Came Last”, at a reception at 4 p.m. today at the Lee County library. The contributing authors will be sign autographs, and the book will be sold for $20. Info: 759-2422.
An interesting U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop campaign strategy has caught the attention of the authors of Political Insider, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s daily political blog. Bishop recently donated $100,000 from his campaign treasury to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to assist “less secure candidates,” the Insider noted, as Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantsville has done for Republicans. The difference: No challengers have stepped up to oppose Bishop’s 2008 re-election bid, while Westmoreland has two Democratic challengers. “While other Georgia politicians are scratching for extra campaign cash to fund their 2008 races – Rep. Jim Marshall, a Macon Democrat, comes to mind – Bishop and Westmoreland’s checks make sense,” the Insider noted. “Giving to the campaign committees is a must-do for veteran house leaders like Bishop, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. More importantly for Westmoreland, giving big bucks to the committees is a way of winning friends that any
future House leaders would need.”
Stocking stuffer: A great read
The book everyone interested in Lee County has been waiting for is finally on the shelves – just in time for Christmas. The Lee County Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that it will release the historical collection, “The Caboose Came Last”, at a reception at 4 p.m. today at the Lee County library. The contributing authors will be sign autographs, and the book will be sold for $20. Info: 759-2422.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Albany Beat
Andre to Michael: Stay
Political blogger Andre Walker (http://www.georgiaunfiltered.blogspot.com/) is among those who aren’t crazy about the idea of losing Sen. Michael Meyer Von Bremen from the state legislature. Meyer Von Bremen, a Demcorat, is considering a 2008 Superior Court run. Says Walker: “There’s a lot of good leadership in the senator from Albany, and to be quite frank with you, I think the quote by Dougherty County Commission Chair Jeff Sinyard says it best: ‘In all honesty, I wish he’d stay where he is.’”
Political blogger Andre Walker (http://www.georgiaunfiltered.blogspot.com/) is among those who aren’t crazy about the idea of losing Sen. Michael Meyer Von Bremen from the state legislature. Meyer Von Bremen, a Demcorat, is considering a 2008 Superior Court run. Says Walker: “There’s a lot of good leadership in the senator from Albany, and to be quite frank with you, I think the quote by Dougherty County Commission Chair Jeff Sinyard says it best: ‘In all honesty, I wish he’d stay where he is.’”
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
My Partner Dusty
Editor's Note: This tribute to 20-year-old Iraq war casualty Dustin Lee of Quitman, Miss., and his canine partner, Lex, was authored by John Burnam, founder of the National Working Dog Memorial Project in Washington, D.C. and author of "Dog Tags of Courage" and "A Soldier’s Best Friends"
I’m a U.S. Marine and the primary element of a two-member team trained to hunt and locate explosives. My partner and I trained as a team for many months honing our expertise to save American lives in the War on Terrorism in Iraq .
The date is March 21, 2007 and I was on the job in Fallujah , Iraq when an enemy fired Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded in our midst. I was blasted to the ground. I’m Stunned. My head is ringing and my body feels numb. My eyes can’t quite focus on anything.
My partner is lying next to me severely wounded and bleeding. I move to him and touch him but he’s not responding. I feel sharp pains in my side and back. I’m bleeding but deal with it and concentrate on comforting my partner and protecting him from further harm.
Everything happened so fast that it caused disorientation and confusion. My senses pick up the lingering smell of burnt powder and smoke from the explosion. I hear lots of American voices and heavy boot-steps hurrying all around us. They reach our location and immediately attend to my partner. And then they carry him away. I’m separated from my partner for the first time. I’m not clear of thought and then I too am carried way but to a different hospital.
I’m in a building lying on a table with lights above and people talking. Still dazed and confused I hear a strange voice say my name, “Lex!” I gesture a slight reflex of acknowledgement. “Lex! You are going to be okay buddy! Just lay still. We are going to take care of your hurts, so stay calm okay, Lex?” My eyes dart around the room searching for my partner, but he’s not there and no one can interpret my thoughts.
I’m released from the hospital and well enough to travel so they transfer me from Iraq to a U.S. Marine Corp base in Albany , Georgia . I really miss my partner, Dusty. I know something has happened to him because he would never have left me alone for so long.
Yes, my name is Lex. I’m a seven year old German shepherd Military Working Dog, service number E132. My master and loyal partner is Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee, U.S. Marine Corps canine handler from Mississippi . I’m well disciplined to my master’s commands and expertly trained to sniff out bombs and explosives. Where’s my master, Dusty? Where’s Dusty, my partner? No one can understand me but Dusty. Where’s Dusty?
Iraq was to be my last combat tour before retirement. Dusty talked to me all the time about going home and adopting me. I sure do miss my Dusty. He is the best friend I’ve ever had. I love that crazy Marine from Mississippi !
No one can measure the love and unconditional loyalty I have for Dusty. I’d sacrifice my own life for him and he knows it. I just wish I could have stopped that RPG or pushed Dusty away from that powerful blast. It all happened in a blink of an eye and I didn’t see it coming until it was too late. Now I sit alone in my kennel-run waiting for the day Dusty shows up.
The U.S. Marines are treating me very well. I get enough food and water and exercise each day. And the Veterinarian comes by to examine my wounds on a regular basis. I just can’t sleep well at night. I wake up to every little noise and I think about Dusty. Where can that Marine be?
The nights are long. The days turn into weeks. Still no Dusty! My wounds are healing and my hair is growing back. The pain still resides in my back but I can walk okay. I have a piece of shrapnel near my spine that the Veterinarians avoided removing for fear of further health complications. I’ve been fortunate to be declared physically unable to perform in a combat zone.
One of the dog handlers gave me a real good bath and grooming. I felt so refreshed because I was on my way to meet Dusty’s family. Maybe Dusty will be there waiting for me. When I arrived I sensed something was not quite right. Dusty wasn’t there and everyone was sad, but very happy to greet me. I then realized that I was attending Dusty’s funeral. Everyone showed up to pay their respects.
Dusty is a real American hero and he was buried with full military honors. I was so proud to have been his last best friend and partner. At one particular moment of total silence during the ceremony, I sniffed a slight scent in the air that was very familiar. It smelled like Dusty. I figured he sent me a signal that he knew I was there! I moaned a sigh of grief that he would only hear and understand.
I was greeted by the Lee family with joy in their hearts. The picture is of Dustin’s mom, Rachel, and me in church. It felt so warm and comfortable to be with my partner’s loving family. I wanted to stay but I was escorted away after the funeral and back to Albany , Georgia . What is going to happen to me now?
Wait a minute! I was due for retirement, right? Why did the military take me to see Dusty’s family and not leave me there? I belong with them in Mississippi not here in Georgia . There is something very wrong with this picture!
The Lee family adopting me would not be too much to ask considering they will never again see their son, grandson, brother, nephew and friend. Adopting me will keep a big part of Dusty’s life alive for them and for me too! I will enable Dusty’s family to experience what he already knew about me. I loved and protected him everywhere we went and even on the battlefield in Iraq . It’s time the U.S. Marine Corps allowed Dustin’s family to adopt me. I’m not a young pup anymore, you know! I’m of retirement age and I want to spend the rest of my life with the Lee family. It’s where I now belong!
So please help the Lee family adopt me by signing a petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/retire-military-working-dog-lex
Always Faithful,
Lex (,
German Shepherd Dog
Military Working Dog
U.S. Marine Corps
I’m a U.S. Marine and the primary element of a two-member team trained to hunt and locate explosives. My partner and I trained as a team for many months honing our expertise to save American lives in the War on Terrorism in Iraq .
The date is March 21, 2007 and I was on the job in Fallujah , Iraq when an enemy fired Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded in our midst. I was blasted to the ground. I’m Stunned. My head is ringing and my body feels numb. My eyes can’t quite focus on anything.
My partner is lying next to me severely wounded and bleeding. I move to him and touch him but he’s not responding. I feel sharp pains in my side and back. I’m bleeding but deal with it and concentrate on comforting my partner and protecting him from further harm.
Everything happened so fast that it caused disorientation and confusion. My senses pick up the lingering smell of burnt powder and smoke from the explosion. I hear lots of American voices and heavy boot-steps hurrying all around us. They reach our location and immediately attend to my partner. And then they carry him away. I’m separated from my partner for the first time. I’m not clear of thought and then I too am carried way but to a different hospital.
I’m in a building lying on a table with lights above and people talking. Still dazed and confused I hear a strange voice say my name, “Lex!” I gesture a slight reflex of acknowledgement. “Lex! You are going to be okay buddy! Just lay still. We are going to take care of your hurts, so stay calm okay, Lex?” My eyes dart around the room searching for my partner, but he’s not there and no one can interpret my thoughts.
I’m released from the hospital and well enough to travel so they transfer me from Iraq to a U.S. Marine Corp base in Albany , Georgia . I really miss my partner, Dusty. I know something has happened to him because he would never have left me alone for so long.
Yes, my name is Lex. I’m a seven year old German shepherd Military Working Dog, service number E132. My master and loyal partner is Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee, U.S. Marine Corps canine handler from Mississippi . I’m well disciplined to my master’s commands and expertly trained to sniff out bombs and explosives. Where’s my master, Dusty? Where’s Dusty, my partner? No one can understand me but Dusty. Where’s Dusty?
Iraq was to be my last combat tour before retirement. Dusty talked to me all the time about going home and adopting me. I sure do miss my Dusty. He is the best friend I’ve ever had. I love that crazy Marine from Mississippi !
No one can measure the love and unconditional loyalty I have for Dusty. I’d sacrifice my own life for him and he knows it. I just wish I could have stopped that RPG or pushed Dusty away from that powerful blast. It all happened in a blink of an eye and I didn’t see it coming until it was too late. Now I sit alone in my kennel-run waiting for the day Dusty shows up.
The U.S. Marines are treating me very well. I get enough food and water and exercise each day. And the Veterinarian comes by to examine my wounds on a regular basis. I just can’t sleep well at night. I wake up to every little noise and I think about Dusty. Where can that Marine be?
The nights are long. The days turn into weeks. Still no Dusty! My wounds are healing and my hair is growing back. The pain still resides in my back but I can walk okay. I have a piece of shrapnel near my spine that the Veterinarians avoided removing for fear of further health complications. I’ve been fortunate to be declared physically unable to perform in a combat zone.
One of the dog handlers gave me a real good bath and grooming. I felt so refreshed because I was on my way to meet Dusty’s family. Maybe Dusty will be there waiting for me. When I arrived I sensed something was not quite right. Dusty wasn’t there and everyone was sad, but very happy to greet me. I then realized that I was attending Dusty’s funeral. Everyone showed up to pay their respects.
Dusty is a real American hero and he was buried with full military honors. I was so proud to have been his last best friend and partner. At one particular moment of total silence during the ceremony, I sniffed a slight scent in the air that was very familiar. It smelled like Dusty. I figured he sent me a signal that he knew I was there! I moaned a sigh of grief that he would only hear and understand.
I was greeted by the Lee family with joy in their hearts. The picture is of Dustin’s mom, Rachel, and me in church. It felt so warm and comfortable to be with my partner’s loving family. I wanted to stay but I was escorted away after the funeral and back to Albany , Georgia . What is going to happen to me now?
Wait a minute! I was due for retirement, right? Why did the military take me to see Dusty’s family and not leave me there? I belong with them in Mississippi not here in Georgia . There is something very wrong with this picture!
The Lee family adopting me would not be too much to ask considering they will never again see their son, grandson, brother, nephew and friend. Adopting me will keep a big part of Dusty’s life alive for them and for me too! I will enable Dusty’s family to experience what he already knew about me. I loved and protected him everywhere we went and even on the battlefield in Iraq . It’s time the U.S. Marine Corps allowed Dustin’s family to adopt me. I’m not a young pup anymore, you know! I’m of retirement age and I want to spend the rest of my life with the Lee family. It’s where I now belong!
So please help the Lee family adopt me by signing a petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/retire-military-working-dog-lex
Always Faithful,
Lex (,
German Shepherd Dog
Military Working Dog
U.S. Marine Corps
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