On their Facebook page, the Marines have a post "After an intense international effort, an Iraqi donkey will relocate to the United States to be trained as a rehabilitation therapy animal."
Photo from Marines.mil social media
Back in 2008, a skinny donkey wandered onto Camp al Taqaddam, a US military base, in Anbar province. What Smoke found were a bunch of hardened Marines in a war zone with hearts of gold when it came to kids and animals. Marine Colonol John Folsom, now retired, was commandant of the camp when Smoke showed up.
"Marines aren't all tough guys with hard hearts - we're suckers for kids and animals," says retired Marine Col. John Folsom.
The Marines nursed the donkey back to health and soon adopted the donkey as their mascot and friend. Children back home who heard about Smoke, had been watching the movie "Shrek" and began sending cards, letters and even donkey treats in care packages to Smoke. The skinny donkey was beloved not only by his Marines, but by children back in the states!
When Folsom's unit left Iraq, Smoke was handed over to another Marine unit. Smoke stayed with the Marines there in Iraq until the fall of 2010, when the last of the Marines left.
At that time, the Marines handed Smoke over to an Army unit that was replacing them. A major in that Army unit immediately gave Smoke away.
Much has been written about the banning of pets by servicemembers. In the case of Smoke, an exception had been made. The apparantly gregarious donkey was declared a working therapy animal. With that declaration, Smoke had a home there at the base. A home that was, until the Marines left and the Army took over.
"The Army wanted nothing to do with him," says Folsom, referring to what is obviously still a sore point.
In what was to become an international effort, Folsom began working on getting "Smoke" relocated to the United States with Nebraska being his final destination. The process involved the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the SPCA International and the U.S. Embassy. Smoke will be brought through Turkey enroute to the United States.
"The major told me, 'I gave it to this sheikh in Fallujah,' and the sheikh said, 'I gave it to this family in Ramadi or Fallujah,' and the family said, 'Well, he's a famous donkey, we want $30,000 for him," says Folsom.
The sheikh made an offer to buy back the donkey at a lower price for the Marines. Buying back Smoke became only one of several logistical hurdles to overcome. Smoke is a "free-range donkey" and had to be corralled. No small task.
So the process was started to bring him back. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) helped work out a plan where the donkey would be flown out from Kuwait to Amerstam and then into Washinton's Dulles. Smoke would have to remain in quarantine for 2 weeks before being released. He was then expected to take the final leg in his journey to a new home at Take Flight Farms in Omaha for training and then on to a Wounded Warriors Retreat in northwestern Nebraska.
Folsom hoped to have Smoke back in Dulles by Christmas 2010, but that wasn't to happen. Still Folsom didn't give up when Kuwait stopped allowing donkeys to enter their country.
"I was hoping to have the donkey back in Dulles by Christmas," says Folsom, who isn't giving up. "If not (via) Kuwait, there's Jordan. Or perhaps Turkey."
Horse Channel.com reported on April 25th....
"Thanks to the efforts of SPCA International and the U.S. Embassy working with authorities in Turkey, Smoke will become the first animal allowed official transport from Iraq into Turkey since the Iraq war began."
"An intense international effort involving the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the U.S. Embassy and SPCA International will allow an Iraqi donkey to relocate to the United States next month. SPCA International thanks the many donors and supporters who petitioned the Turkish authorities allow Smoke the donkey passage to the U.S. through Turkey. The animal was rescued in 2008 by Col. John Folsom and his Marines at Camp Taqaddum, brought back to good health and soon became the unit’s mascot and friend."
Smoke will be trained as a rehabilitation therapy animal there in Nebraska. Little did those Marines realize that their kindness to a wild, skinny donkey back in 2008 would lead to that same donkey providing therapy support to families of military personnel wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. Smoke continue giving back to others at the Wounded Warriors Family Support organization there in Nebraska.
From a skinny donkey that was nursed back to health by a group of Marines to a therapy animal for our wounded warriors, I think you could say that Smoke is a gift that keeps on giving.
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