Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Tag Archives: Afghanistan


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‘Stubborn Positivity’ Shines in ‘Craig and Fred’

Craig and Fred

A Marine, A Stray Dog, And How They Rescued Each Other

By Craig Grossi (Harper Collins, 2017)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoir

Via: Library

Pages (print): 266

“Looks like you made a friend,” his Marine Corps buddy quipped of the short-legged, floppy-eared stray dog who wandered into the USMC compound in Afghanistan.

But what author Craig Grossi heard was, “Looks like a Fred.” The name stuck. What unfolds next is one of the most touching, heartwarming and remarkable true animal stories we’ve ever read.

Even Kimber Her Royal Magnificence was impressed: “Fred is my new best bud! He’s like, Totally PAWsome!”

“Kimmi, you say that about everyone,” chirpeth Her Momness.

“So?”

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Why ‘Shadow’ is Like a Warm Breath of Spring

Shadow

By Michael Morpurgo

U.S.: Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan

Great Britain: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Via: Library

A silver star badge. A little red train.  A cave in Afghanistan. A “sniffer dog” named Shadow. An incredible story of escape, adversity, courage, and love. The kind that never gives in and never gives up.

“We want you back.”

Kimber here, saying “Happy Spring” – finally! I’m also ready to introduce you to my new BFF: Shadow the springer spaniel. Aka: “Polly.” She’s a special bomb-sniffing dog. (Okay, she’s not quite as special as I am. But let’s not get picky here, okay?)

Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. Shadow. She gets lost in Afghanistan during the war and is finally reunited with her old unit from the U.K. But not before finding her way into the heart of young Aman.

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