His name was Max. He was a beautiful German shepherd, and parting with him was one of the most difficult things Pam Pelton would have to do. Before Max came into her life, he was a war hero serving as a bomb-sniffing dog with the Air Force for four years. When Max failed his recertification test because he had become "too nice," according to official documents, Pam adopted him as her own.
For the next half of his life, he and Pam would form an unbreakable bond. He even saved Pam's life from two feral dogs in the woods. After five years, doctors told Pam that Max had a terminal disease. The heroic dog aptly passed away on Memorial Day of 2012. For the next two years, Pam would fight tirelessly to have Max's ashes buried in a military cemetery. When they told her to just have him buried at a pet cemetery, Pam told them that he wasn't a pet, he was a soldier.
Then Pat got in contact with the MSPCA who had created a special cemetery area for war dogs. Their special memorial reads, "Their unwavering loyalty and dedication to their country will never be forgotten." Max's tombstone read, "Memory is a gold chain that binds us until we meet again at the rainbow." Beautiful.
Finally, after years of naysaying, Max received the honorable funeral he deserved. As the song "Taps" echoed through the procession, Max was saluted by officers and buried amongst American flags; the proper hero's send-off only a real soldier could earn.
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