Dave the dog, the injured pooch rescued from the taunts and abuse of local Afghans by a Marine from Walthamstow serving in the war-torn Sangin District has been reunited in the UK with his saviour.
Royal Marine, Alex Mutch, now back home from his tour of duty, adopted Dave after finding him with both his ears cut off while on foot patrol with 40 Commando in Afghanistan. A campaign to raise £4,000 to bring Dave home was so successful it collected nearly twice as much and the remaining cash is being given to the Charity, Nowzad, which helps rescue injured and abandoned animals from Afghanistan and Iraq.
After their happy reunion, Dave and Alex were parted again, Dave to six months in quarantine and Alex back to the Somerset base of his regiment.
The Marine’s sister Heather Mutch, who coordinated the rescue campaign, says her brother has been staggered by the public’s generosity. She told Walthamstow Now that she visits Dave at least once a week where he’s being kept in Essex: “Whenever Alex comes back up from Somerset we both go and see him. Alex definitely misses Dave and he just can’t wait till March when they will be reunited for good.”
Dave was named by Marine Mutch and his colleagues in 40 Commando in memory of a comrade, David Hart, killed in an explosion in July.
