On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, a dog named Smoke will be reunited with his soldier, U.S. Army Private First Class Donny Eslinger. On the surface, this does not seem unusual for a group that helps reunite battle buddies with the soldiers that adopted them while in Afghanistan. But this story is different...as told by his squad leader, Staff Sergeant Daniel.

My name is Staff Sergeant Daniel , I am a squad leader for an Infantry Unit, B Co. 1-24 Infantry Battalion of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fairbanks, AK. Our unit has been engaged in a pretty intense fight with no visible enemy. The insurgents blend into the local population and attack us at their discretion. My platoon has suffered the loss of an American Hero, Doug Cordo in August of this year. I have also sent four Soldiers home wounded just from my squad alone. The last Soldier is the one I am writing to you about. Donny Eslinger, a Private First Class, was wounded critically on 26 September 2011 when Insurgents attacked our Forward Operating Base with indirect fire weapons. Donny was standing only 4 feet from the impact of a 75mm Recoilless Rifle round. His injuries were immediately life threatening. His femur bone was shattered lacerating his leg, shrapnel to the shoulder, head and chest. There was a hole in his chest the size of a softball. Eight of his fellow Soldiers immediately came to his aid, risking their own lives. With rounds continuing to land within 50 feet, Soldiers still worked on him without seeking cover for themselves. Two other Soldiers were wounded trying to and still aiding Donny. He was eventually moved to the Aid Station where the Doctor and Medics feverishly worked on him which saved his life. Donny is now in Tampa, Florida where he is being treated for his Traumatic Brain Injury. He miraculously survived his injuries and has a long road to recovery. This brings me to why I am contacting you. On 18 August 2011 our Platoon conducted an operation in a Taliban insurgent safe haven located inside Afghanistan. On that mission Donny found a little puppy about 6 weeks old, him being the animal lover he is, he picked up the puppy and placed him in his assault pack. I have a great photo of Donny and the puppy, he quickly named Smoke sticking out of his assault pack. The next day we lost Cordo outside that same village. Smoke was the only bit of moral that made these kids forget were they were and cope with the tragedy we just experienced. It is amazing how therapeutic a little creature can be. Donny took care of that dog up until he was injured. Many of us in his Platoon would love nothing more than to see Smoke reunited with Donny. It would be the only decent thing we would see come from this place. I spoke with Donny's father and they are more than willing to bring Smoke back. Apparently Donny still talks about the puppy and how much he loved that dog. I am Donny's Squad Leader and would be willing to donate a significant amount myself to the cause. Donny's situation received a lot of media attention in his hometown because his father is the county sheriff.
Please let me know if there is anything you can do to help with this cause. Donny will have a lot to deal with over the next year and Smoke could be a catalyst for recovery.

Thanks to you, Staff Sergeant Daniel, this one is Mission Accomplished!

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Fill a Heart with Puppy Love

February is traditionally the month to show our love for others. Let's show our love and support for the sacrifices our military make for us on a daily basis.

"Fill a Heart with Puppy Love" is our newest fundraiser. For every $100 raised through the chip-in, a heart filled with puppy love will be added to PRM's Facebook album titled "Puppy Love".

As many of you know, the Puppy Rescue Mission has been inundated with requests from soldiers to help bring their rescues back to the USA. To meet this challenge, we are asking everyone to chip-in to this fundraiser. If all of our 22,000 Facebook fans donate just $5 each, we would raise over $100,000! As always, any amount is greatly appreciated by the PRM team, and most certainly our soldiers.

Ideally, if you can donate just $25 (equivalent to $2.08 each month for the year) and then ask at least 3 friends outside of PRM to do the same, another heart would be filled with puppy love. And, we could raise some much needed funding.

Let's fill 1000 hearts with puppy love! We are Team PRM and we can do this! Paw Salute & Tail Wags! Thank you for your service, Soldiers! It is because of men and women like you, that we live in the Land of the Free.

Donate to the "Fill a Heart with Puppy Love" chip-in today!

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Paws Up Shout Out

 A sincere THANK YOU to the Mayhem Rockstar tour team, the producers, Godsmack, and Disturbed for conducting an auction to raise money for The Puppy Rescue Mission. They raised a total of $9000 and the check is on its way!

This truly has brought us all to tears...and PRM has decided to donate $1000 to Stumpy, $2000 to Aaliyah and $2000 to three upcoming rescues. Truly a new year's miracle!

Thank you, again, to Godsmack, Disturbed, and the Mayhem Rockstar team for their continued support of The Puppy Rescue Mission - you are all angels to us!

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GoodSearch and GoodShop

The Puppy Rescue Mission is excited to be a part of GoodSearch and GoodShop - easy and quick ways to help the mission earn money by simply using the Internet!

• American Legion Post 24 Women's Auxiliary in Dagsboro, DE
• Linda Norwood Auction with Wells Fargo
• Linda Merkel D'Vine Wine Event
• Surf Dog Ricochet Contests
• SunCoast.com
• Bully Sticks
• Petmate
• Annemeike Philippi with Deko Design
• Stacey Planz
• American Legion #488, Monroe, NY
• Watkins Mill Elementary
• George Ellery Hale Middle School
• Protect America Care
• Zydecon Restaurant & Terry Mills
• Life & Dog Magazine
• Sunchasers by Kathleen Hartford
• No Dog Gets Left Behind, Save the Pups, INC of Pennsylvania

The primary mission of The Puppy Rescue Mission, Inc. (TPRM), as stated in our by-laws, is to fund-raise and assist in pet rescue, foster and re-homing when needed, in particular pets of soldiers, especially those deployed in war zones. We assist with requests, logistics, administration and fund-raising for the adopted stray dogs of war rescued by and bonded with soldiers. This may include vet care, supplies, transport and related issues. We work with or through other organizations that help our soldiers bring their companion animals home from war.

“A dog does not discriminate. They do not care who you are, what you look like or what you do. The only thing in life they ask for is a little food to keep in their belly, some cool refreshing water to drink, and a pat on the head every now and then. I think we could learn a lesson or two from them. Someone with the most basic of needs that can give back the amount of love that they do - it's pretty damn impressive if you ask me."

~Spc. George M. Zaleuke