Welcome Home Mama and Boris

How a Sister’s Love Saved a Fallen Soldier’s Beloved Dogs

A Reader’s Digest  Book by Carey Neesley with Michael Levin

 Don’t read this book. 

Don’t read this book – unless you have lots of tissue by your side.  We all hear about the war in Iraq constantly, and we feel blunted of emotion, for it is overwhelming.  If you are a mother, father, sister, relative, however, the death of your loved one is overwhelming in a different way – it brings the war and terror to your doorstep.  In Carey Neesley’s heartbreaking story about the death of her brother Peter in Iraq and what she and her family went through – not even finding out that he died in his bed and why until a year later – we are with her, we are her in some finite way.  Peter died in Baghdad on Christmas day.

While he was in Iraq Peter befriended a stray dog, Mama, and watched her puppies get killed – all except one, Boris.  It broke his heart, and he took care of Mama and Boris by feeding them and trying to protect them as best one can in a war zone.  When Peter died, his regiment took care of Mama and Boris, as Carey had informed them that she wanted them home – she wanted Peter’s dogs to live with her in the United States.  She felt they were part of Peter and in some strange way; the precarious process helped her heal.  With the assistance of many people, the impossible became possible, for no one had ever tried to deport dogs from a war zone, half feral dogs at that.

As Carey and her young son, Patrick, put out a call for help, people stepped up to the plate.  Rich Crook from the Best Friend’s Animal Society in Utah decided to help Carey and fly to Baghdad to pick up the dogs and come back with them on an airline that donated their plane – for free.  Governor Jennifer Granholm sent Carey to United States Senator Carl Levin.  Levin’s assistant, Justin Harlem help get the request through government bureaucracy, for this is unprecedented.  The commanding officers of Peter’s unit in Iraq turned a blind eye to the operation, allowing it to happen.  Senator Levin secured clearance for a private defense contractor, Threat Management Group Agility Logistics (TMG) to shepherd the dogs from the base through the Green Zone and onto the plane.  They arranged to administer vaccines to the dogs.  John Wagner of Gryphon Airlines offered the use of a plane, for free.

This is a stunningly and unbelievable story about one soldier, Peter Neesley and his sister Carey, who did the impossible.  Peter came home in spirit with his dogs, with Carey and Patrick at his side.

Plain, honest, and incredibly good.

Ratings are based on a 5-star scale

Overall: 4

Review by Broad “A” – Ava

We received a copy of this title for our book review. All opinions are our own

Welcome Home Mama and Boris: How a Sister’s Love Saved a Fallen Soldier’s Beloved Dogs is available on Amazon.com and booksellers nationwide