Marine working dog to receive commemorative Purple Heart - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Marine working dog to receive commemorative Purple Heart

QUITMAN, Miss. — Lex, the former bomb-sniffing dog of the late Marine Cpl. Dustin Lee, will be given a commemorative Purple Heart next month at the Working Dog and Fallen K-9 Handler Tribute.

Eight-year-old Lex was working with Lee when the Marine was killed during a bombing in Iraq last year. The German shepherd was also injured. He has since been retired and lives with Lee’s family in Clarke County, Miss. Lee and Lex had been assigned to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga.

The tribute will be Feb. 16 at the Air Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Lee’s family is scheduled to be on hand for the event.

In December, the Marine Corps announced Lex could go home to Lee’s family. It is the first time the military has granted a dog early retirement to be adopted by someone other than a former handler.

The military has more than 1,700 dogs that work alongside American troops, including about 260 in the Marines. Their bomb-sniffing skills have been in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Working Dog Association said dogs have worked with the military beginning with World War II.

The association said three working dogs and four handlers, including Lee, have been killed in action.