Dog rescued from Iraq offers soldier’s family consolation

The Rollins family has found comfort in adopting Hero, a pup their dog-loving son Justin played with the day before he died in 2007.

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Justin Rollins's parents, Mitchel and Rhonda, and his girlfriend, Brittney Murray, bring Hero to visit Justin's grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

Brittney Murray and Hero sit by Justin's grave. Murray took the lead in trying to bring Hero to the United States.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

Hero was part of a litter of puppies Rollins and his unit took photos of and played with in March 2007, the day before he was killed by a roadside bomb.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

Justin Rollins holds one of the puppies. The photo was sent by one of his friends after he died.

Courtesy of the Rollins family

After her request for the dog was turned down several times by the Army, Murray contacted local newspapers and then congressional offices.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

Then-Rep. Paul W. Hodes (D-N.H.) helped Murray and the Rollins family get Hero from Iraq to New Hampshire.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

While Justin Rollins’s parents and fiance have made several trips from New Hampshire to Arlington to visit his grave, this was the first time they were able to bring Hero along.

Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST

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