Caesar the War Dog by Stephen Dando-Collins

Author:Stephen Dando-Collins [Dando-Collins, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781742756325
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2012-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

All the shooting and explosions had ended a long time earlier. All day, as the sun travelled across the sky, Caesar had lain in a ditch near a road. After being unable to keep up with the last Humvee and being left behind, Caesar had found a hole in the ground where he took shelter. Picking up the scent of Afghans and hearing the voices of Taliban fighters shouting with glee after sending the Special Forces troops fleeing back to FOB Python, Caesar had lain low until he could no longer hear or smell them.

Then, cautiously, he had come out of hiding. After looking around unsuccessfully for signs of Ben and the other Australians, Caesar had limped east to a road, and there beside it he had rested, and waited. Remembering that he and Ben had come to this place by road the previous night, Caesar decided that Ben and the other soldiers might come along this road again. When he heard vehicles, he would emerge from hiding – that was his plan, anyway. But not a single vehicle came along the road as he lay there. Late in the day, Caesar decided to try to find Ben. Pain shot through his bloodied left leg every time he put his paw on the ground, so, keeping his front left paw off the ground, Caesar limped along the road in the direction that he believed would lead him back to Ben.

In twilight, Caesar limped up to the gate of FOB Python. A breeze had been blowing his way and, a long way out from the hilltop base, he had picked up the aroma of cooking food. That, combined with scents he associated with the base, and with Ben, had acted like a beacon to Caesar. In a metal tower rising above the camp wall beside the main gate, two soldiers of the Afghan National Army on guard duty spotted Caesar approaching. Sergeant Hazard had been right about the missing dog finding his own way back to base in time for supper, but no one had told the two Afghan sentries that an Australian military dog was missing and to be on the lookout for it. As Caesar limped up, the sentries thought he was nothing but a stray kal dog.

First, they yelled at Caesar to go away. In response, Caesar barked at them, as if to say, You silly humans, I’m on your side! Let me in! One sentry, angered by this barking dog, turned his machinegun Caesar’s way and fired a short burst of bullets into the air. When Caesar stood his ground, the sentry fired off another, longer burst now in Caesar’s general direction. This time, Caesar shied away. Getting the message that he was not wanted here, he withdrew into the growing darkness.

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