Nine months have passed since Sgt. Tracy McKithern fell in love with a pitiful pup while deployed to Iraq.
After caring for her overseas and battling to bring her home to the United States, McKithern’s efforts finally paid off with an emotional airport reunion.
McKithern is a combat photographer and a major dog lover. After arriving in Erbil, Iraq in April 2017, she caught sight of a filthy white pup sniffing around the camp. McKithern learned from fellow soldiers that the dog’s mother had a litter of three, but by the time she arrived, two of the pups had disappeared.
Street dogs are often the targets of abuse in Iraq, and McKithern learned the mama dog and her puppy had been kicked and pelted with rocks by locals. Despite her prior treatment by humans, the scrawny, filthy puppy instantly responded to the officers.
“She loved everyone,” McKithern told the Army Defense Media. “She is the sweetest little soul. She came up to me immediately, probably hungry, but gentle. I think she was looking for love more than anything else.”
The soldiers at camp named her Erby Kaisma. Erby, for the city of Erbil, and Kaisma which means “beauty and elegance” in Arabic.
Erby became the team’s unofficial mascot, waiting patiently for them when they returned to base.
“She ran up to our convoy every day,” McKithern said. “She was so tiny she would fall and trip all over herself to get to us.”
