JPS Health Network's Emily Meister, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, and her husband, Paul, have re-paid Beatrice Kiddo, a shepherd-mixed dog found roaming the war-torn streets of Iraq, with a loving home and safe environment for providing love and companionship to their son and his unit over the last several months. Beatrice was found outside the men's compound in February hungry, pregnant and in dire need of tender loving care. An animal lover by all accounts, Captain John Meister and his unit nursed Beatrice back to health and even took care of her five puppies - growing attached to all of them over the course of several months.

Technically, soldiers are barred from caring for animals found overseas while on active duty as part of military regulations. As such, John and his group began making arrangements with Operation Baghdad Pups, an affiliate of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) International to have the dogs adopted and shipped to the U.S. The program has been in place since Sept. 2007 when a distraught soldier who rescued a puppy he named Charlie contacted the SPCA asking for help on getting the animal out of Iraq, as the military does not allow animals to be shipped back to the U.S. Since then, Charlie and more than 20 other animals have been adopted, received medical care and sent to the U.S. for a better life thanks to donations on behalf of the program.

Per the SPCA's regulations, animals must be adopted prior to being shipped to the U.S., and while all of Beatrice's puppies had homes waiting for them, Beatrice herself did not.

"I got a panicked call from my son saying no one had adopted Beatrice yet, and without a home she would be left in Iraq," Emily said. "I knew he couldn't bear that thought and he has enough to worry about over there, so I told him we'll take her and she'll be waiting for him when he comes home."

Beatrice is adapting well to her new home in the U.S. For more information on Operation Baghdad Pups, visit www.baghdadpups.com.