It’s very hard to admit the loss of an indivisible companion.
Sergeant Kyle Smith and his colleague, a German Shepherd named Bodza, got to know each other during service in the Air Force of the US.
Bodza has been an explosive pointer starting from 2006 and supports rescuing lives by detecting explosives. In 2012, Smith began working with him and the two immediately became closest companions.
“It was a great pleasure to work with him because due to him I learned a lot: the calmness of a young manager and how to realize that this job is not just for your own self,” Smith said to The Dodo.
Throughout the long period, they completed many missions jointly, and when it was the retirement period of Bodza, Smith made up his mind to affiliate him. “I returned home with him the same day,” he said.
“He was even more faithful at home,” Smith said. „He went after me anywhere. He laid his head on the bed and wished good night every night.“
Bodza’s seclusion was a joyful period until in the summer of 2016 it was detected that he has a degenerative disease named myelopathy, a cureless illness that influences on dog’s spinal string.
“His back limbs had lost all utility and he couldn’t stand properly or walk alone,” Smith said. „She couldn’t handle the strain on her body and going to the toilet was a problem.“
Smith faced an occasion that no one who has a pet wants to come across: to lay down Bodza. Kyle together with his nine colleagues brought him to the Fort Bliss Vet Hospital in El Paso, Texas. He was laid on a blanket and died calmly in his master’s arms.
“I was hugging him as he passed,” Smith remembered. “It was a rush on many things. It was just stunning.“ Luckily, his colleagues were there to support him.
“They let me cry as a kid,” Smith said. “They comforted me and said everything would be fine. My boss instantly went and took the flag, put it on himself and gave me one last moment.“
Bodza departed this life, but seemingly, spent his ultimate moments happily. “When he was euthanized, there was a smile on his face,” Smith recalled.
“I will never fail to remember his faithfulness,” he said. “He was self-sacrificing, more than anyone I have ever known. He did so much without expecting anything, and did it with a smile. I feel his absence every moment.“
I express my gratitude to you, Bodza. Rest in peace.
