Byung Kang is a 31-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps. This man served in Afghanistan, where he met Blue, a black Labrador trained to detect improvised explosive devices,
They both participated in more than 300 combat missions during the period 2011-2012. Kang never forgot her and upon returning home, he decided to adopt the dog that saved his life.
The ex-Marine now credits home thanks to Blue, and over the past 6 years he has focused on reaching out to different military branches and nonprofits to have his former partner by his side.
Blue was excellent at his job, on his first mission he managed to detect an explosive device, saving the lives of the platoon members.
Navy Veteran Adopts Dog That Saved His Life “From there, Blue started gaining the trust and respect of my platoon.”
Kang was so grateful to Blue for protecting him on every deployment they made, that one night in Afghanistan, he made a promise to his partner.
«I said, ‘What you’ve done for me and my guys here in Afghanistan, we can’t give back. So I’m going to give you a good house where you can curl up all day and not worry about going to war and finding bombs.'»
When Kang ended her time in Afghanistan, Blue was reassigned and contact between the two was lost, but the veteran never forgot his promise and told Wendy who his fiancee was at the time. Among his plans was to adopt Blue upon his retirement from the service.
Wendy is also a Navy veteran. She used her connections to find Blue and facilitate her adoption when she finally retired, and in late 2018 she was welcomed into their home.
«I’ve done everything in my power to make sure we can bring Blue home, after all the stories I’ve heard I know for sure Blue is one of the reasons why BK is here with me and is alive.»
Kang is now a K-9 officer with the Duluth Police Department. Blue also serves in the police department alongside him.
Blue is now 11 years old and lives in Georgia with Kang and Wendy, two children, five dogs and two cats. Earlier this year, Blue was diagnosed with cancer, but luckily the lump in her mouth turned out to be benign. she now has a quiet life and likes to give hugs.
This experience led Kang to enter Blue into the 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards, where he is a semi-finalist in the military dog category.
Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane invites everyone to read the remarkable stories of these incredible heroes on his official website.
“Military dogs work side by side with our warriors, facing the same hardships and dangers to keep our nation safe.”
The Navy veteran is grateful to Blue and all military dogs, and highlights their courage and service.
«These working dogs, they will lay down their lives for us, so we have to be grateful to them and respect them and most importantly trust them because dogs won’t lie.»
