UPDATE: Dog and Handler, Wounded in Iraq Explosion, Sign On to New Life Together

Rex was once a bomb-sniffing military dog. Now he belongs to his former handler, Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana. The two served together in Iraq. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)

An Air Force bomb-dog handler who was severely injured in Iraq adopted her closest comrade in war -- an 80-pound German shepherd named Rex -- in a small ceremony Friday at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

The much-awaited moment for Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana, 27, came 6 1/2 months after the airman was nearly killed when a roadside bomb exploded beneath the Humvee in which she and Rex were riding. Rex survived the blast with minor injuries.

Dana was critically injured -- with collapsed lungs, a broken pelvis, a fractured spine -- and in her last moment of consciousness that day pleaded to know the fate of her dog. "Where's Rex?" she asked, grabbing a medic's arm.

Weeks later, as Dana slowly recovered from her wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she began asking about adopting the animal. At first, the Air Force said no. Rex was 5 years old, not nearly the retirement age of 10 to 14.

This fall, there was a change of heart. Air Force officials said they supported the adoption and worked with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push through a measure that would allow special exceptions to working-dog adoption rules.

The measure became part of a defense bill signed Dec. 30 by President Bush.

On Friday, Dana was handed Rex's leash and an adoption certificate in a ceremony attended by her Air Force husband, her friends, her commanding officers and other Air Force personnel. Rex lay quietly near his handler through most of the speeches.

The president of the American Humane Association, Marie Belew Wheatley, reflected on the bond between people and their animals -- and how it can help recovery. The group had collected 29,000 signatures online supporting Rex's adoption, Wheatley said.

As Dana's case drew national attention, critics weighed in on the Internet -- arguing that the bomb-sniffing Rex is important to the military and should be helping protect other troops.

With the issue settled, Dana said she is looking forward to many years with Rex. She is working an Air Force desk job, awaiting word on her possible retirement. She has served since 1997, just after high school graduation.

"He's mine," Dana said. "I'm kind of relieved, happy, a little bit of everything."

-- Donna St. George