Discipline, composure in stressful situations, and good commitment were the pillars of Officer Rami.
His K9 partner, Lari was a loyal and focused German Shepherd just like him.
They were an elite team and they were entrusted with risky operations and emergencies.
Their relationship was not only professional.
After years of training, night patrols and near-death experiences, they had a bond that most people could never understand.
However, all this changed in a mission that was to be easy.
All of a sudden, they heard an explosion close to their team.
Dust and debris were flying and there was a pandemonium.
Rami was unconscious when the dust settled.
His helmet was shattered, and his pulse feeble.
He was flown by helicopter to the closest trauma center.
At that place, the doctors delivered the dreadful news: Rami had a severe brain injury and was in a coma.
Weeks passed.
Rami did not stir.
He was hooked up to machines to keep him alive and he did not seem to be waking up.
His brain activity was monitored by doctors on a daily basis, and there was no improvement.
His family remained with him and hoped that a miracle would happen, but the doctors were trying to prepare them to the worst.
At some point, the tough talks started- should they take away life support?
The family made one last request as they struggled with the decision, to have Lari visit Rami.
Lari had been behaving nervously and restlessly ever since the accident, as though he had some inkling of what was wrong.
As soon as Lari was taken into the hospital room, he changed.
He came in slowly, ears up, tail low, eyes alert.
Then he noticed that Rami was lying in bed.
Lari approached at first very cautiously.
Then something happened.
He started to bark–loudly and urgently.
He leaped on the bed and pawed Rami, licked his fingers, and nudged his arm, and would not be put off.
The nurses observed, felt and astonished.
What appeared to be a last farewell turned out to be more.
Then one of the nurses suddenly gasped–Rami was moving his finger.
His heart monitor spiked.
One of his eyes opened a bit.
One of the doctors came forward and told Rami, “Rami, can you hear me, squeeze my hand.”
A few seconds after, Rami feebly grasped the hand of the doctor.
All the people in the room sprang to action.
The health care professionals performed tests, manipulated equipment, and consulted experts.
Rami had answered, against all odds–the first time in weeks.
It was as though it were a miracle.
And there in the midst of it all was Lari, still on the bed, tail wagging, as though he had accomplished something great.
Rami encountered numerous problems in the following weeks.
His body was weakened and his speech was slow to come back.
Physical therapy was hard.
But Lari never quitted him.
He would attend therapy, be with Rami on difficult days and nights.
The doctors and nurses saw something incredible, Rami would always progress more when Lari was around.
The dog was more than a companion.
He was the support of Rami.
Rami finally could go home.
He recalled his family, his childhood, and the bark of Lari–but not the mission.
He still did not remember the explosion and the cause of it.
One night, when Rami was going through old photographs with his mother, he paused at a photo of two soldiers leaning on a Humvee.
Who is he with me, he said, pointing to the other man.
His mother said, softly, That is Odell.
He was your comrade in that mission.
A light went on in the mind of Rami.
Then, all at once, the memories came back–Odell proposing an alternate route, the confusion that had followed, and then the explosion.
Rami recalled that he had objected to the notion of Odell–and then the explosion.
He was betrayed.
Rami told his commanders what he recalled.
An inquiry was started.
Over time, they recovered erased mission data, including video evidence that showed Odell had flaunted the rules and had put the team at risk.
The facts were obvious.
Worse still-Odell had never come to see Rami or inquired about him since the incident.
That silence was something now.
Rami was absolved of any fault and was back to active duty.
The truth had now been told–thanks to Lari.
The first day he was back at the base, Rami was met outside the kennels by Lari, who was wagging his tail.
He dropped on his knees, laid a hand kindly on the head of Lari, and said, in a low voice, You have not only saved my life.
You made me recall.”
At that moment, when he was under the open sky and his faithful companion stood by his side, Rami was certain of one thing:
No harm, no treason, and no threat could ever sever the connection between them.
They had lived through the impossible.
And they were prepared, both of them, to face whatever was to be next–stronger than ever.