A photo of Rocky, an injured service dog, recovering in Walter Reed Army Medical Center with a Purple Heart on his muzzle has gone viral, garnering more than 89,000 likes, 118,000 shares and more than 9,500 comments as of Sunday morning. The K-9, together with his handler, 22-year-old Spc. Andrew Brown, were injured in an explosion in Afghanistan, while they were searching for explosives, according to Fox News.
Though Rocky and Brown survived the blast, they were nonetheless injured by shrapnel from the improvised explosive device (IED). Brown and Rocky had been partners for years, and had only been serving in Afghanistan for two months when the incident happened.
After the explosion, both dog and handler were flown together to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where Brown and Rocky were awarded Purple Hearts, reports ABC News. Because of his service, Rocky is considered as an American soldier. Brown further stated that Rocky is one rank higher than him.
"He does everything," Brown said. "I'm just really a guy with a leash. I bring him to the area and let him do his thing. If he responds, I translate that ... let them know my dog got a response right here."
The medal in Rocky's muzzle, however, was probably an honorary award, as the Purple Heart is only awarded for humans who were wounded in combat. In the history of the U.S. military, only one dog has received a real Purple Heart. Chips, a mixed breed dog, was awarded the honor after serving with an American company in Sicily in 1942, according to The Daily Mail.
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