She was an explosives detection dog with the Australian Special Forces. Her nose found hidden bombs before soldiers could step on them. Her handler and best friend was Corporal David Simpson. They trained together, deployed together and played the same game with a tennis ball over and over again.
On September 2, 2008, their convoy was ambushed in the mountains of Uruzgan province in Afghanistan.
The fighting lasted for hours. A rocket exploded near David and shrapnel tore into his leg. The blast broke the clip that kept Sarbi’s lead attached to him. Sarbi was hit too, but she kept running alongside the vehicles.
Later, wounded and lying in a ditch, David called her name. She came within a few metres of him. Then more gunfire rang out, she got scared, and she ran.
It was the last time he saw her.
Nine of the twelve Australians in that battle were wounded. An American dog handler was killed. It was the same battle in which Trooper Mark Donaldson earned the Victoria Cross.
Sarbi was listed as missing in action.
Soldiers searched for her again and again. David’s friends even left his sweaty clothes around the edge of the base so she could follow his scent home. Most people slowly gave up. David never did.
Fourteen months went by.
In November 2009, an American soldier at a remote patrol base noticed a local man walking with a black dog. The soldier, who has only ever been named as John, knew the Australians had lost a bomb dog. He walked over and gave the dog a few commands.
She understood every one of them.
Sarbi was flown by helicopter to the Australian base at Tarin Kowt. One of her old trainers took one look at her and gently nudged a tennis ball towards her with his foot. She grabbed it straight away. It was their game.
“It’s amazing, just incredible, to have her back,” he said.
After quarantine, Sarbi flew home to Australia and was finally back with David. In 2011, she was awarded the RSPCA Purple Cross for her courage, only the second animal ever to receive it for wartime service.
She spent her retirement living with David until she died in 2015. She never had to be brave for anyone again.
Do you think dogs remember the people they love, even after years apart? Tell us in the comments.
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