LONDON – Liam and Theo were a team, fast friends doing a dangerous job -- searching out roadside bombs laid by insurgents in Afghanistan. The jovial British soldier and his
irrepressible dog worked and played together for months, and died on the
same day. On Thursday they came home, flown back to Britain in a somber
repatriation ceremony for the soldier remembered for his empathy with
animals and the companion he loved.
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| In this undated image made available in London by the Ministry of Defence, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker trains with his Military Working Dog, Theo, in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. The body of Lance Corporal Tasker, a dog handler with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps who was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province is to be repatriated to Britain, Thursday March 10, 2011, along with Theo, his bomb-sniffing springer spaniel, who suffered a fatal seizure hours later at a British army base | |
Lance Cpl. Liam Tasker, a dog handler with
the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, was killed in a firefight with
insurgents in Helmand Province on March 1 as he searched for explosives
with Theo, a bomb-sniffing springer spaniel mix. The dog suffered a
fatal seizure hours later at a British army base, likely brought about
by stress.
Military officials won't go so far as to say Theo died of a broken heart -- but that may not be far from the truth.
"I think we often underestimate the grieving
process in dogs," said Elaine Pendlebury, a senior veterinarian with
animal charity PDSA. "Some dogs react very severely to their partner's
loss."
She said it was not uncommon for pets to
respond to an owner's death by refusing food and becoming sick -- and
the bond between working dogs and their handlers is especially close.
"The bonding that I have seen between
soldiers or police and their dogs is fantastic. When you see them
working together, it's really one unit."
A military Hercules plane carrying Tasker's
body and Theo's ashes touched down Thursday at a Royal Air Force base in
southwest England. As the funeral cortege of black vehicles drove
slowly away, it was saluted by a long line of military dog handlers,
their dogs at their sides. A black Labrador retriever sat quietly beside
its handler as the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin disappeared
from view.
At the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, where
people line the streets in a mark of respect each time a dead solder is
repatriated, dozens stood silently -- some with dogs at their feet --
as Tasker's friends and family laid roses atop the hearse. The Ministry of Defense said Theo's ashes would be presented to Tasker's family later at a private ceremony. Tasker, 26, from Kirkcaldy in Scotland,
spent six years as an army mechanic before joining the military working
dog unit in 2007. He felt he had found his calling.
"I love my job and working together with
Theo," Tasker said in a profile of the pair released by the Ministry of
Defense before his death. "He has a great character and never tires. He
can't wait to get out and do his job and will stop at nothing."
The soldier and the 22-month-old dog had
been in Afghanistan for almost six months, uncovering roadside bombs and
weapons in a dangerous daily routine. Theo became a bit of a military celebrity
last month after the defense ministry released photos and video of him
and Tasker to highlight the lifesaving work of military dogs. The
footage, now deeply poignant, shows Theo -- energetic, ears cocked, tail
wagging -- alongside Tasker searching a compound for explosives.
The ministry said then that Theo had been so
successful -- finding 14 hidden bombs and weapons caches, a record for a
team in Afghanistan -- that the dog's tour of duty had been extended by
a month.
Tasker was the 358th British soldier to die
in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Theo was the sixth
British military dog killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001.
There are calls for Theo to receive the
Dickin medal, which since 1943 has recognized wartime bravery by
animals, from carrier pigeons to a World War II commando collie.
The loyalty of some dogs is legendary, from
Greyfriars Bobby, a 19th-century Skye terrier who guarded his master's
Edinburgh grave for 14 years, to Hachiko, a Japanese dog who awaited his
owner's return at a train station every day for years after the man's
death. Both are commemorated with statues.
Tasker's father, Ian, said Theo would have been devastated by Liam's death. "I truly believe when Theo went back to the
kennel, that that would have a big, big impact because Liam wasn't there
to comfort him," he told ITV news.
Tasker's mother, Jane Duffy agreed. "I'm not
nurse or a vet (but) I would like to believe (Theo) died of a broken
heart to be with Liam," she told the broadcaster. Tasker's colleague's recalled the soldier's
bond with his dog and zealous attention to duty in tributes released by
the defense ministry.
"A natural with animals, he had an affection
for his dog that truly was a window to his soul," said Maj. Alexander
Turner, a commander of Tasker's unit.
He "was here to save life, finding explosive
devices that kill more farmers than combatants in our area," Turner
said. "His fortitude and zeal for that perilous task was humbling; it
imbued us all with confidence. He used to joke that Theo was impossible
to restrain but I would say the same about Lance Corporal Tasker."
Tasker's uncle, Billy McCord, said the
soldier had been due to leave Afghanistan soon and worried about being
separated from Theo. "He actually said at one point that when he
finished his tour he was not sure what would happen to his dog and that
he could be separated from his dog," McCord told the local Courier
newspaper in Scotland. "That was preying on his mind, but they are not
separated now."
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