Former homeless puppy in Iraq now making strides in Riverside

“Sasha” is a dog still shy of a year old but the German shepherd mix was an old pro in a room full of second-graders at Stewart Elementary School in Washington.

“She was soft,” said Kyle Pierce, 8, a student in Jane Murphy's second-grade class. “So far, I've liked petting it.”

“Everyone seems to be really happy to have her here,” said Ellie Todd, 7, as the dog rolled over for children to rub her belly on Wednesday morning. “It's pretty cool that she came from Iraq.”

For a dog so young, Sasha has seen the world but not the kind of world ideal for a puppy.

Late last year, Dave Hunter was in Taji, Iraq when he came across a homeless puppy. His wife, Toni Hunter of Washington, said Dave has taken in other animals he encountered in his government work in Iraq. Yet finding a permanent place for Sasha took months of work.

“We had to get permission to have him, security to bring him back and we had to find him a home,” said Toni Hunter .

Sasha's journey started in Taji as she would eat whatever dog food and treats Dave Hunter could offer. In the meantime, Sheila Hanson of the Paws and More Animal Shelter in Washington was trying to line up a permanent home back in Eastern Iowa.

“It's inevitable that she would have died at an early point had she stayed there,” said Hanson.

Hanson's long list of e-mail contacts included Diane Cermak of Riverside.

“We wanted it to be a German shepherd mix and we wanted it to be a rescue,” said Cermak on Wednesday as she watched the children play with Sasha.

With Sasha as the “ultimate rescue”, Cermak drove to Washington, D.C., to pick up the dog. She already had plans in place if the dog didn't work out.

“She had never seen kids before, no females,” said Cermak. “But the second we walked up to the shelter in D.C. and met her, she rolled over and approached my children first.”

Since returning to Riverside in early April, Cermak and her husband, Craig, had to keep the dog in a 30-day quarantine. Cermak said Sasha is current on all on her shots but is still having difficulty with their other dogs.

On this day, Cermak said Sasha passed this early test of being in a kid-filled classroom with ease.

“Once we get the reactions under control with the training we are doing, it'll be a great dog,” said Cermak. “I couldn't have asked for a better dog.”