No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing US Troops’ Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone
By: Terri Crisp, Cynthia Hurn / Narrated By: Nicole Vilencia
Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
I’m so thankful for all the people in this book!
When I first listened to No Buddy Left Behind, I really could not STAND Nicole Vilencia’s narration. Her tones were so happy, so upbeat, even as she was speaking of the horrible things troops suffer during deployment/combat. It was as though she were speaking to school children, all slow, all smiley-like.
That was before I realized you could toggle the narration speed on apps. Oh what a difference x1.25-x1.5 speed make! This time when I listened, things flowed so much better, she didn’t sound as though she was speaking to a bunch of dolts, and she didn’t sound so glib about some really horrific things; not just horrific for the soldiers and contractors, but for the animals as well.
I really loved this book this time around. And Terri Crisp and SPCA International really rock. Hell, I’m grateful for this book because practically everybody in this audiobook rocks. So many groups, individuals, businesses came together to do some really amazing things for the soldiers and for the animals that meant so much to them. Security groups did animal transportation from bases all the way to Baghdad International Airport. Individuals from welfare groups in Iraq came through at one o’clock in the morning for a cause they didn’t even know existed a day before. Sri Lankan porters, unable to speak English, were loyal during layovers and were complicit in helping to sneak animals past Customs. FedEx offered use of one of their jets for a massive animal airlift to get them out of Iraq before the summer cutoff date (just do NOT ask them to transport an animal for you: It was a one time hero-effort, folks!). And even hotel clerks, coming from a country where dogs are thought to be completely unclean, attempted to find Crisp a place to stay with her charges when she was stranded overnight.
Expect some really tearjerker stories from the soldiers and contractors; these are people suffering being away from home, some of them shutting down after seeing and doing so much, too much. Brought back to life by the love and companionship of loyal companions, dogs and yes, even cats are as loving and soothing as anyone could hope.
Expect also, that not each of the missions is successful. There is tragedy throughout the book (There! Now I’ve set you on the edge of your seat for each escapade as now you won’t know which one is successful and which one is not. So, ha!)
And keep in mind that a war zone makes for PTSD for animals as well as humans. How will they react when they’re not in a place where they have to stay awake to protect those they love? How will they react to Iraqis or Middle Easterners when they come from a country where those people brought abuse or bombs? And how in heaven’s name will they react to grass, simple grass, after living where there’s only sand and desert?
This makes No Buddy Left Behind a truly compelling listen, and I can’t think of a better audiobook for a Thanksgiving Animal Pick.
Really. If you love animals, if you like war stories, if you like listening to the resilience of the soul, give this book a listen.
Uhm… at 1.25 speed at the slowest :)
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