Soldier, working dog partner survive direct blast from suicide bomber in Afghanistan

A wounded US Army Specialist and his K-9 have been reunited after both were badly injured in Afghanistan last month.

22-year-old Specialist Alec Alcoser and 8-year-old K-9 Sergeant Alex were brought together again in Texas last week, following their harrowing encounter with an Afgan suicide bomber on August 5.

“I would yell at him and his ears would twitch, but he wouldn’t look at me,” said Alcoser. “I think he was in a state of shock. He didn’t growl, he didn’t bark, he didn’t cry. He stayed right there.”

The blast left Alex with only three legs and Alcoser with a traumatic brain injury, shrapnel embedded in thirty percent of his body and several broken bones.

According to KDVR, both soldiers were awarded the Purple Heart, and both have a way to go in terms of rehabilitation.

“They’re estimating about four to six months, and so I’m already a month and almost half in, and I’m already walking, so I think I’m going to beat that time,” Alcoser said. “Either way, the doctors say I have a pretty good chance of making a full recovery, and that’s all that matters. I’ve got to get back to my dog. That’s the important part.”

SPC Alcoser and SGT Alex had rituals during their time in Afghanistan, including eating something good before going on missions, something Alcoser calls a ritual of special operations troops.

“It was kind of their thing to eat a sweet because you never know if that’s going to be your last when you go out,” he said.

Alcoser hopes to return to duty after rehabilitation, and plans on keeping his K-9 partner by his side.

“I don’t have any frustrations, I just take it day by day, that’s all I can do. There’s no point in being mad or sad or anything like that. I’ve got to live through the people who died for me, so they give me a lot of strength,” he said. “Alex ain’t complaining, so I don’t think I should, either. His injuries are a little worse than mine. A lot of people call him a dog, but I think he’s a little more than that. He’s a soldier.”

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