A stray dog wandered onto a U.S. military post in Iraq one day in 2016 and simply didn’t leave — and neither, eventually, would the soldier who fed him.
A Dog Who Wandered Onto the Base
Ken Wyrsch, then a U.S. Army specialist working alongside a Kurdish military unit in Iraq, first encountered the puppy — a shepherd mix the soldiers named Ollie — when the dog wandered onto their post and stayed. The camp adopted him as an unofficial mascot, and Wyrsch, in particular, took on the role of his caretaker, feeding him and looking after him as the puppy grew.
Ollie became a fixture of daily life on the base. “He was like a morale booster,” Wyrsch told CBS SF. “He was there when we left on our missions, he was there when we got back.”
A Camp Shutting Down
That routine ended when Wyrsch’s unit learned the camp was being disbanded and the soldiers were heading home. For Ollie, that meant losing the only stable life he’d known and returning to the streets — in a country where, Wyrsch said, stray animals often faced harsh treatment. He worried Ollie, gentle and unguarded around people, wouldn’t survive long on his own.
“You don’t leave a friend behind,” Wyrsch said. “Can’t do it.”
Getting Ollie Home
Once back in the U.S., Wyrsch contacted SPCA International, an organization that has helped reunite deployed service members with animals they’ve bonded with overseas. The organization helped organize Ollie’s transport and rally the donations needed to fly him roughly 7,500 miles from Iraq to San Francisco — a costly, logistically complicated process that Wyrsch credited to public generosity: “This right here was thousands and thousands of dollars of donations that went into this dog. He’s a good boy. He’s worth it.”
About a month after Wyrsch left Iraq, Ollie’s flight landed at San Francisco International Airport, where Wyrsch was waiting for him.
The Reunion
Footage of the reunion, later aired by CBS SF (KPIX), shows Ollie reacting immediately and unmistakably to seeing his soldier again after weeks apart and a journey across the world. Since then, the two have settled into life together in California, with Wyrsch describing Ollie as thoroughly at home in his new surroundings.
Not an Isolated Story
Wyrsch and Ollie’s reunion is one of many that SPCA International and similar organizations have facilitated over the years, helping service members bring home animals they cared for during deployment — dogs and cats that often become an important source of comfort and normalcy in high-stress environments far from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SPCA International, and what role did it play here? SPCA International is an organization that, among other work, helps coordinate the transport and funding needed to bring animals bonded with U.S. service members overseas back to the United States. It organized Ollie’s flight and the donation campaign that paid for it.
Why couldn’t Ollie just be left in Iraq? Wyrsch said he was concerned Ollie, a gentle and people-trusting dog, wouldn’t survive on his own on the streets, particularly given how strays were often treated in the area. That risk drove his decision to bring Ollie home rather than leave him behind.
How long did it take to get Ollie to the U.S.? About one month passed between Wyrsch’s return home and Ollie’s arrival at San Francisco International Airport, during which SPCA International organized the logistics and fundraising needed for the transport.
Sources: CBS SF (KPIX); SPCA International; The Animal Rescue Site.
Great story but the military should permit the soldiers to take home these dogs without the need of a non for profit spending all that money to make arrangements to get the dog to the United States.