Soldier vows to bring unit's battle buddy home
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Her husband came home from Afghanistan, and now a Puyallup woman is fighting to bring back his battle-buddy - a 4-month old puppy who bonded with the entire unit.
There's just one problem - Army regulations won't allow soldiers to bring Oso the dog to the States.
Now Phil and Lena Bourillion are hoping their efforts will cut through the red tape and get Oso out of harm's way.
Phil found the pup, an Afghan mountain dog, in a pile of trash one day near his unit's base.
"Obviously scrounging for food - I'm sure - no mother around," says Phil.
So he picked her up and took her in - and soon Oso and the rest of Phil's unit with the 5th Stryker Brigade were inseparable.
If one of the troops felt down or missed a loved one - Oso was there. When they went out on night patrols - Oso waited for them to return safely.
"No matter where we went - she would follow us," says Phil.
So when his unit got orders to move to another base, they thought they'd bring Oso along.
"She just grew on us, and we decided to keep her and try and bring her home," Phil says.
Then one of Phil's higher-ups said "no."
But by then Phil had told his wife and their friends about Oso - and they all fell in love with her.
"She's also going to be a part of our family," says Lena, Phil's wife.
And now they'd have to say goodbye. For Lena - it was heartbreaking.
"When he told me they were going to have to leave her - 'You guys aren't doing that - you guys aren't leaving her behind,'" Lena said.
But the only other option was to somehow get Oso to Puyallup.
Lena got on it right away.
She enlisted the help of family and friends, raised money and made phone call after phone call.
"Anybody that knows me knows that I don't take no for an answer very well," she says.
Finally, someone agreed to help - but it was a long shot.
A company in Afghanistan said they would sneak Oso out of the base - through enemy lines.
Phil took Oso's camouflage leash off because he knew if she got caught with it on - they'd kill her and the brave Afghan driver risking his life to bring her to America.
"So, for about 24-hours we were both really stressed," Lena says.
Then they got a phone call - Oso made it, almost.
Right now she's stuck - hoping to catch a flight to New York.
For Phil and Lena - "I think that's even more stressful," she says.
They tell me they won't give up - even after Phil goes back to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks.
They'll do anything to bring Oso home.
"And that's the least I can do to give back - and also do a good deed and save a beautiful animal that deserves better in life," Lena says.
The Bourillions are still trying to raise money to bring Oso and other dogs home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
There's just one problem - Army regulations won't allow soldiers to bring Oso the dog to the States.
Now Phil and Lena Bourillion are hoping their efforts will cut through the red tape and get Oso out of harm's way.
Phil found the pup, an Afghan mountain dog, in a pile of trash one day near his unit's base.
"Obviously scrounging for food - I'm sure - no mother around," says Phil.
So he picked her up and took her in - and soon Oso and the rest of Phil's unit with the 5th Stryker Brigade were inseparable.
If one of the troops felt down or missed a loved one - Oso was there. When they went out on night patrols - Oso waited for them to return safely.
"No matter where we went - she would follow us," says Phil.
So when his unit got orders to move to another base, they thought they'd bring Oso along.
"She just grew on us, and we decided to keep her and try and bring her home," Phil says.
Then one of Phil's higher-ups said "no."
But by then Phil had told his wife and their friends about Oso - and they all fell in love with her.
"She's also going to be a part of our family," says Lena, Phil's wife.
And now they'd have to say goodbye. For Lena - it was heartbreaking.
"When he told me they were going to have to leave her - 'You guys aren't doing that - you guys aren't leaving her behind,'" Lena said.
But the only other option was to somehow get Oso to Puyallup.
Lena got on it right away.
She enlisted the help of family and friends, raised money and made phone call after phone call.
"Anybody that knows me knows that I don't take no for an answer very well," she says.
Finally, someone agreed to help - but it was a long shot.
A company in Afghanistan said they would sneak Oso out of the base - through enemy lines.
Phil took Oso's camouflage leash off because he knew if she got caught with it on - they'd kill her and the brave Afghan driver risking his life to bring her to America.
"So, for about 24-hours we were both really stressed," Lena says.
Then they got a phone call - Oso made it, almost.
Right now she's stuck - hoping to catch a flight to New York.
For Phil and Lena - "I think that's even more stressful," she says.
They tell me they won't give up - even after Phil goes back to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks.
They'll do anything to bring Oso home.
"And that's the least I can do to give back - and also do a good deed and save a beautiful animal that deserves better in life," Lena says.
The Bourillions are still trying to raise money to bring Oso and other dogs home from Iraq and Afghanistan.