A decorated military dog with a nose for explosives, he is a lovable Labrador with a true sense of duty. He is Sgt. Fieldy.
Sgt. Fieldy may be more than 11 years old, but he doesn’t act like it. He is a constant bound of energy. It doesn’t matter what situation he is in; he is going to be wagging his tale. Sgt. Fieldy may seem at home as a house dog, but he has more then earned his R&R after an intense career as a bomb detection dog.
Sgt. Fieldy is a marine. His job was to find explosives before they were found accidentally. Sgt. Fieldy and his handler, U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Nick Caceres, deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. While they were out on patrol one day, one of their vehicles hit a bomb, injuring the occupants. Sgt. Fieldy had to clear a landing zone, so that a helicopter could arrive safely to take the wounded marines out of harm’s way. Throughout their tour, Sgt. Fieldy worked tirelessly to detect explosives and found several IEDs and their components, saving countless lives.
With Sgt. Fieldy’s help, Nick completed his deployment. But even though Nick’s service was ending, Sgt. Fieldy was called up again to return to Afghanistan. Despite the fact Nick and Fieldy had developed an intense bond, depending on one another for life while serving their country, they were forced to say goodbye. Sgt. Fieldy was sent back to Afghanistan two more times without Nick.
Meanwhile, as soon as Nick returned home, he filed the necessary paperwork to adopt Sgt. Fieldy upon retirement. It was a long and hard process – Nick didn’t know where Sgt. Fieldy was, or even if he was alive. Finally, Nick got the call.
It had been three years since Sgt. Fieldy and Nick last saw each other. And at last, they were reunited, brothers in arms. It was time for Sgt. Fieldy to live a well-deserved relaxed and happy life with Nick, playing with toys and getting cuddles every day.
Sgt. Fieldy’s time in the service had ended, but it did not go unrecognized. In 2016, Sgt. Fieldy received the K9 Medal of Courage Award on Capitol Hill. And in 2018, he was selected as the Military Hero Dog, in the Hero Dog Awards. Sgt. Fieldy, thank you for your brave service.
Voting is open until May 7 for this year’s hero dogs. Vote at www.herodogawards.org/vote.
