Brutus, the Heroic Air Force K9-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A dog assigned with a K9 group at McChord Air Force Base in Washington allegedly won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year because of his performance in Iraq. The story claims that his handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. His handler gave him a signal that meant to go away and come back and find him. The dog did come back, attacked an insurgent guard, got access to the room where the soldiers were being held, untied his handler, and all the soldiers escaped.
The Truth:
We don’t know where the picture is from but the story accompanying it is Fiction!
A long-time member of the K9 group at McCord Air Force base said no dogs named Brutus have been sent to Iraq and there aren’t any stories that he knows of that resemble the one related in the eRumor.
Additionally, there is no dog named Brutus who has ever won the Medal of Honor presented by Congress or any other animals for that matter.
Just for the record, the K9 unit member we spoke with said there is no command taught to the dogs that tells them to go away and come back later.
Updated 1/25/08