U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Jamie Himes Dana thought the enemy was
in Iraq. In recent weeks, however, she has discovered she has
opponents a little closer to home.

Dana, who was critically injured in Iraq in June, has sought to
adopt Rex, the bomb-sniffing dog who was with her when she was
injured.

While the Hazel Hurst native’s plight needed an act of Congress
to come to fruition, others have started a petition, calling Dana’s
intention selfish and causing soldiers to be killed.

“I wish I could say it didn’t hurt, but it hurts more than
anything else I can imagine,” Dana said Monday. “I end up in tears
just about every day of the week anymore.”

The petition, started by Chris Duhon of Georgia on an Internet
site – thepetitionsite.com – has turned out to be moot. President
Bush signed the measure into law Dec. 30. But that doesn’t stop
Dana’s pain, which has become emotional over physical.

“Anytime I hear another solider has died or been wounded, it
just kills me,” she said. “I wish I could take just one of their
places so that one soldier could come home to their family.

“I regret every day that I lived and so many haven’t.”

There are currently 195 signatures on Duhon’s petition; he is
seeking 500,000. On the other side of the spectrum, another
petition has garnered more than 29,000 signatures. Organizers were
seeking 25,000.

“I started the petition out of disbelief that a soldier, airman,
sailor or marine would be so selfish as to take away a life-saving
tool from other soldiers while we are still at war,” Duhon told The
Era Monday. Duhon served in the paratroop infantry in Afghanistan
and Iraq. “I can tell you we need all the dogs as can get. These
dogs are a very valuable asset to us at the moment.

“The thought that another veteran would be so selfish as to feel
that her emotional healing deserves this dog more than another
soldier’s life is appalling to me and other veterans past and
present that I have spoken to about this subject.”

Himes said that those who are against her reunion with Rex don’t
really know what they are talking about, especially those who are
waiting for Rex to attack someone.

“Rex was never a top dog by any means,” she said. “He is very
friendly. He has had multiple chances to bite someone for good
reason, yet he won’t do it.

“I’m so tired of people who have never met my dog telling me
what he is and isn’t going to do.”

Duhon, however, believes that since the dogs are the property of
the U.S. military and dog handlers know not to get attached, the
bill sets a bad precedent.

“The military set a policy and needs to stick to it, for the
better of the military and even more importantly because having
that dog back in service could be the dog that potentially saves
the life of one of my soldiers.”

Duhon said if the dog is deemed unfit for service, then it’s OK
for him to be adopted. He also alleged that Dana went over the
military and to the public to get “sympathy from civilians and
politicians assuming that public pressure would help her get her
way.”

“It is my feeling that civilians tend to side more with emotion
than the best interest of the military … I personally would not
want to read about another (killed in action) soldier and wonder if
how he/she died could have been prevented had MWD Rex been in
theater.”

Dana, who said she never expected a backlash like this, has
spoken with several people -ðincluding the chief of staff of the
Air Force – about what to do.

“So many of these people who are against me keep saying it’s my
fault that soldiers are dying, so I asked my leadership what they
thought I should do,” she said, adding she never sought the
attention she has received. “They told me that we are not short on
dogs in Iraq because Rex isn’t there. Rex had to come home when I
got hurt anyway, so his replacement was sent.”

Some of the most hurtful comments came from Will Rambeau of K9
Concepts of Georgia and Capital Canine.

Dana said Rambeau, who did not return a message left by The Era
Monday, e-mailed her that this situation is proof why women should
not be in combat.

“I think that you’ve proven to be a great example of why letting
woman into combat zones, or the military entirely, was a bad idea
and that good soldiers will die for a crappy social experiment,” he
said. “Stay home and cook please and let your hormones do the
thinking, because your brain certainly doesn’t … Nice to know that
there’s a person like you so willing to weaken the military. I’m
sure the terrorists are following your story and rooting for
you.”

Dana said she has not received official word that Bush signed
the bill and is anxious to put this behind her.

“Right now I’m feeling mostly anger, and yes, I am very much
looking forward to this all being over,” Dana said. “I hate to
think that Mr. Rambeau is permitted to call himself a “veteran” and
be classified in the same group as the wonderful men and women of
the Crosby Legion.

“I know the majority of veterans around the country are better
people then he will ever be. It’s just sad that he has to be in the
same category.”