My husband joined the Army March 2009. We were married just after his basic/AIT training July 2009 and my husband was sent to his first duty station in Wiesbaden, Germany August 2009. We had been told that I would be anywhere from 2-4 weeks behind him and that he probably wouldn’t see a deployment anytime soon.

Unfortunately, my husband was assigned to a deploying unit and would be headed to Iraq a mere 4 months after he arrived in Wiesbaden. I was faced with a tough decision, spend a few months with my husband and spend a year alone in Germany, or stay home. I decided to go to Germany, and also decided to bring a dog with me to protect me and keep me company. That’s where my gorgeous puppy comes into the picture.

I found my female Alaskan Malamute when she was just 2 months old and started the process to get us to Germany. My husband and I turned in all the necessary paperwork to get Malie and I to Germany before my husband left for Iraq. Just when we thought we would be together before Thanksgiving, we were told that all the paperwork had been lost and would have to be resubmitted which meant it would all go through after my husband was in Iraq. Defeated, we tried to get my husband home for the holidays but he was told that it was too late for him to take any leave before the deployment.

During my husband’s R&R was the very first time he met Malie and boy were they both excited! Malie is a smart dog who gets herself into a lot of mischief but when you meet that doggie face, you can’t help but love her instantly! We had a great 2 weeks together.

We were so excited for the deployment to be over and to finally head to my husband’s next duty station and be together once more! December 2010, my husband finally finished his tour in Iraq and was able to come home to California for leave before we packed up and headed to Fort Bliss, TX (El Paso) for the remainder of his contract in the Army. I had to drive myself from California to El Paso, TX while my husband had to fly from Germany to El Paso so I prepared my car and Malie for the long 18 hour drive.

 Three days before I was supposed to be on the road to El Paso, TX with Malie, I didn’t wake up to the usual morning howls of Malie trying to get my attention for our morning walks. Malie was STOLEN from our backyard!! There was a HUGE hole that led into our neighbor’s fenced in backyard and my neighbors had no clue where Malie was. I searched for her everywhere I could think of, called every vet hospital in town to see if she had been injured, tried the animal shelter and the most horrible thing was when I was told to come back every day to check the dead on arrival binder to see if she had come in that way.

 Malie is a very sweet tempered dog. She is silly in many ways like how smaller dogs that bark at her frighten her and for some reason balloons frighten her as well. But besides that she LOVES people and would do just about anything for you to scratch behind her ears or belly. I came to terms with having to leave without knowing where Malie was, if she was alive or not, and left for Texas to meet up with my husband.

 Even though Malie had a microchip, we just had this feeling she was alive and someone fell in love with her and kept her. I was heart broken, and so was my husband, especially since our move to Texas meant he finally got to be with me and Malie after so long and he would get to play with Malie and walk her with me.

 As I was driving through Arizona, I got a call from the animal shelter in my hometown. Malie had been found safe and sound by a lady that worked at the Church across the street from the dog park where I would bring Malie to play! My in-laws picked her up and have been housing her ever since. Now it’s just a matter of how we can afford to bring Malie here to Ft. Bliss.

We could not afford the cost of a commercial flight to fly Malie down to us since she weighs over 90 pounds. My husband and I share a car, so me leaving to take a 38 hour round trip back to CA by myself will not only be hard, but expensive.

We turned to Pilots N Paws to help bring our puppy home since we missed her dearly! She is such a wonderful dog, she is so smart and gorgeous, I missed the way she howled good morning, the way she put her paws on my shoulders and licked my face every morning, the way she needed to sit so close to me when I brush her and the way her doggie face lit up and tail wagged so fiercely when she saw her leash and knew she and I were going on a walk.

She was more than a dog to me, she was a part of the family, and after all the time my husband and I spent apart, I was looking forward to the new special moments we would have as he and Malie FINALLY got to spend more than a couple weeks together, and how the 3 of us would spend so much time becoming a closer family.

Dog is man’s best friend after all.

-Jessica Lopez

 By chance, Jessica met and became friends with my daughter and son-in-law at the apartment complex in El Paso. My son-in-law is also in the Army with a similar story except we drove their Bella to them from Louisiana. Malie’s Story melted my heart and set me out on a mission to reunite her with her Army Mom & Dad!

~Dar

MALIE IS A HERO BEFORE JOURNEYING TO EL PASO!!!!

MALIE is an AMAZING Lil Girl…..

On May 28^th, Kathy in Modesto, had Malie on a long leash in their garage with the garage door open. Kathy and her two Granddaughters ages 6 and 3 were with Malie in the garage. A growling stray pit bull came into the garage and tried to get the 2 girls! Before Kathy had a chance to scare off the dog, MALIE put herself IN-BETWEEN the stray pitt and the girls. She had her ears down and just stood there unmoving! SCARED….the Pitt peed in fright and went off running!!!

Kathy and the girls were Scared BUT MALIE SAVED THE DAY!!! MALIE has never been put in that situation before and they did not know if she would instinctively protect the children. MALIE was AWESOME!! Kathy couldn’t believe it and no longer lets the girls play in the front yard anymore when visiting.

 MALIE MEETS HER GROUND & AIR PATRIOTIC VOLUNTEERS!!

Malie’s ground and air transport was set for June 11^th, 2011. Malie was to be ground transported by 5 Patriotic Volunteer Drivers (Kathy, Nancy, John, Janet, Tina) from Modesto, CA to Malibu, CA.

BUT…1 week before ground transport, an AWESOME PATRIOTIC PNP PILOT named YEHUDA NETANEL offered to fly Malie from Modesto to Van Nuys!!!

Yehuda said, “Malie was very calm and just sat back and enjoyed the ride!!”

Tina & Tom Dunn, Alaskan Malamute Rescuers and the Owners of Double T Kennels met Malie at the airport and transported her to their kennel for the weekend! Tina bathed and groomed Malie for her ground transport on Monday from Simi Valley to Tucson, Arizona. Tina sent Malie off with a goodie bag and Malie looked BEAUTIFUL in her CAMO COLLAR and RED, WHITE, & BLUE BOW!!

Sue Adkins then drove Malie from Simi Valley to Tucson, Arizona. Malie slept most of the way!! Sue said, “Malie is a wonderful traveler! She was very quiet and mellow in the back seat the entire time she was with us. She’s a little shy of new situations but with a happy voice and some encouragement she handles it well. Sweet girl!”

Malie was then boarded at Kennel Comfort Pet Motel in Tucson, AZ. Courtesy of Sue. Malie had no idea who all these Patriotic Volunteers were along her travels but now she patiently awaited her next adventure!

AWESOME Pilots N Paws Pilots, CHRIS & JOSE ORTIZ (also Military) offered to drive by car to pick up Malie on Friday from boarding and then fly her into El Paso on Early Saturday morning. BUT…their home was threatened by WILDFIRES!! Thankfully their home and 6 doggies are okay!! So on Saturday morning Chris & Jose picked up Malie by car with hopes of flying her to El Paso at 4:00 am on Sunday morning. Because of the wildfires, a No Fly Zone was posted! Soooo with BIG HEARTS, CHRIS & JOSE hopped in their CAR and DROVE 5 hours to El Paso!!!! They are DEFINITELY ANGELS!!!!

Malie arrived by CAR in El Paso at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning!! The minute she heard Jessica’s voice she tried jumping out of the car window!! Chris had to hold her back until Jose could get her leash!!

MALIE met MANY PATRIOTS along the way and was SURPRISED to find her Mom & Dad at the end of her Journey!! Jo Jo & Jessica are AMAZED at how KIND everyone has been even though they all have never met.  

A THANKFUL MESSAGE FROM JESSICA & JO JO….

Malie arrived EARLY this morning by car. Jose and Chris are AMAZING! I am SO thankful to them and everyone involved for bringing our big puppy back home to us! We are SO HAPPY to have her home!!!! She heard my voice and tried to get out the car window to me, we got a picture of me and Chris laughing as Chris held Malie in the car while Jose was finding her leash. LOL! Chris and Jose met us at our friends, Mike and Janet’s, house this morning. Janet took all the pictures and Mike was just tickled to meet Malie. Him and Jo Jo played with Malie for over an hour and she passed out afterwards! We got Malie home at about 5 am and she LOVES her new home! She slept in our room and was out just as soon as she curled up on her bed next to ours. She didn’t have any accidents and just like any sleepy child, she was VERY reluctant to get up this morning. She just wanted to sleep in! LOL! She follows Jo Jo around the apartment and is currently sleeping at his feet. She’s going to do wonderful here! We are SO HAPPY to have our baby home!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! ALL of you are AMAZING people and I can’t wait to give back myself! If anyone needs help transporting doggies after Aug 2012 in California PLEASE contact me! I am MUCH more comfortable driving in California and would love to volunteer and help doggies get home to their owners.

This experience has been AMAZING. THANK YOU!

–Jess and JoJo

 To ALL the PATRIOTIC VOLUNTEERS:

YOU have Lifted this ARMY FAMILY’S SPIRITS

by Helping to bring their MALIE HOME!!!!

Miracles DO Happen!!!

THANK YOU!!

Dar