In spite of the charming cover—an adorable shepherd mix puppy curled up asleep on a soldier’s chest—I was in no hurry to read this book.  To be honest, I was wary of the wrenching sensations that a close-up view of life in Iraq might bring. Finally, however,  after weeks of procrastinating, and having exhausted my supply of comfortable escapist fiction, the kind that never tugs at your heart strings, I picked up the story of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman and the puppy, Lava,  that  he and his Marine company rescue from an abandoned building in Fallujah, Iraq.

Once I’d started the book, I could not put it down—now I find myself wanting to tug everyone I know by the shirtsleeves and say—go, now, to your local bookstore and buy and read this book! 

From Baghdad with Love is a heart-opening book.  It is a deeply human book.  And yes, it will bring you closer to the nightmare of life in Iraq, for the American soldiers and the reporters who travel with them, for Iraqi civilians and half-trained, terrified Iraqi troops, as well as for the many stray dogs and cats who face overwhelming odds in their struggle to survive amidst the dreadful violence.  But although the book can be hard to read at times, you will find you are securely anchored in the heart of the Marine who tells this story—and in the hearts of the many people who take tremendous personal risk to help him rescue one scruffy, rowdy little puppy from certain death.

Everyone who loves dogs will understand the bond that forms between this tough career Marine, far from home and in an environment where violence, chaos, and death are constants, and a tiny, 5 week-old puppy.  Lieutenant Colonel Kopelman (Jay) and his Marines (Lava Company) come upon the puppy as they are conducting a house-to-house search for insurgents.  Considering how the click-click-click sounds of the puppy’s toenails on the floor resemble the click-click-click sounds made by timed explosives, it’s a miracle the marines don’t toss a grenade into the room before venturing inside, guns at ready, to confront their tiny foe. U.S. military policy regarding soldiers and animals is absolute: military personnel are forbidden from adopting or feeding any domestic animals, and any stray animals found in the troops’ vicinity are to be destroyed.  Period.  Lieutenant Colonel Kopelman and his men do not follow policy; instead they scoop up the puppy and bring him back to their barracks, where they feed him their rations (and M&Ms), let him sleep in their beds, chew on their boots, and generally reduce these “elite, well-oiled machines of war” to “mere mortals” with “a weird, misty look in their eyes.”

As the superior officer, Kopelman initially attempts to maintain detachment and even muster disapproval.  Within a very short time,  however , and entirely against his better judgment,  he falls hopelessly in love with the little mutt, so much so that he finds he can no longer sleep at night “unless some little fur ball was nestled up against me and breathing on my feet.” And therein lies the tale, because simply keeping “Lava” alive day to day is an against-all-odds effort, but Kopelman is determined to do it, and a small army of co-conspirators join forces to make it possible.  Getting Lava out of the country at the end of Kopelman’s tour is nearly heroic: aside from trying to keep a boisterous young dog hidden, there are endless hurdles to transporting him to the States.  Papers and a vaccination record are required, but no military vet will vaccinate an illicit pet and most Iraqi vets won’t risk being seen as friendly to an American.  He can’t be transported directly out of Baghdad, which means smuggling the same rowdy pup across the border into Kuwait and through a series of dangerous checkpoints manned by nervous Iraqi security forces. Trust me, this book has as many twists and turns as the most nail-biting thriller but is ultimately far more rewarding.

From Baghdad with Love is the story of one man and his dog caught in an all but impossible situation.  It is not a particularly political book. Yet it shines a powerful light on both the human cost of war and the healing quality of the human-animal bond. In case you wonder why the U.S. military forbids soldiers from adopting pets (and in fact orders them shot on sight), Kopelman explains succinctly: 

“Your job is to shoot the enemy, period, and if anything close to compassion rears its ugly head, you better shoot that down, too.”

In the context of war, in which human beings must be transformed into efficient “killing machines,” the military’s policy makes a chilling kind of sense. But as this story illustrates, a “mangy little mutt” has the power to remind battle-hardened warriors of their own humanity.  Lieutenant Colonel Kopelman and his friends go to extraordinary, breathtaking lengths across two continents and an ocean to save Lava. In the end, it’s a little hard to say who saved whom. 

Read this book.  Your heart will thank you.