Chapter 27 – The Dogs of War
Approximate Reading Time – 9 minutes
Following the invasion, Friday afternoons in the ER became progressively quieter. For some reason, traffic was lighter, leading to fewer accident victims to treat. Nick used the pause in activity on this Friday's rotation to catch up on medical journals and paperwork left over from the week. Lately, he had been searching the hospital's limited library, hoping to find some information on Chemical weapons and the treatment of the victims of their use. In the last few weeks, reading other reports has become less critical. But now Nick was having trouble paying attention to a particularly dull article on Asthma and began looking out his office window. In his peripheral vision, he saw a military vehicle approaching the ER entrance. As it came to a stop, Nick could see that the jeep had US Air Force markings. He continued watching, curious, as two people in uniform jumped out, a man and a woman. They went around to the rear of the jeep and then carefully lifted something out. Nick couldn't see what they had, but both wore 'MP' armbands. Whatever they were carrying was too small for a stretcher. His interest piqued, Nick stood up, heading out to see what this could mean.
The airmen entered the ER and introduced themselves to De Souza. The man spoke first.
"Hello 'mam, my name is Captain Brown, and this is Sergeant Ward. We are with an air wing stationed at the airbase, and we need to see if someone can examine our friend here?"
DeSousa looked more closely at what they had in their arms. She suddenly realized that it was a Belgian Malinois dog, its eyes firmly on Sergeant Ward. Two other Filipino nurses pointed and started to giggle to themselves. But the airmen didn't notice this; they focused on the dog. Nick met them halfway across the ER and spoke first.
"What can we do for you? What seems to be the problem?"
The two nurses kept looking at this strange sight and suppressed more giggles.
The captain answered Nick in a thick southern accent.
"Excuse me, Doctor; we need some help for our friend here. He's one of our guard dogs and has something wrong with his leg. We have yet to get our unit vet here. Y'all wouldn't have a vet here, would you?"
"Well, no, we don't have a vet, but what is the problem with him? Let's take him over to that exam area. DeSousa, would you assist me with this patient?"
She seemed hesitant but moved to join them. The two MPs carefully placed the dog on the exam table; the sergeant held the dog's front legs as it squirmed a little. She gave a few commands, and the dog settled down.
The captain looked down at the dog and then back at Nick. Sergeant Ward spoke up.
"He's got a bad limp in his back right leg. He's got a habit of jumping off things that he shouldn't. I think he could've broken his leg."
Nick began to probe the hindquarters gently.
"Let's have a look. It could be a displaced hip, not a break. I don't know this breed well, but I remember that shepherds are prone to hip dysplasia. What's the dog's name?"
Sergeant Ward quickly replied.
"Radar, he's one of the guard dogs on the flight line."
“Radar, oh, like M.A.S.H.”
Nick laughed, looking at the sergeant.
"And you must be Hawkeye, but he doesn't look like Colonel Potter now, does he? I'm Nick Richards."
The Air Force Captain grinned slightly, but Sargent Ward missed the reference entirely.
Nick continued examining the dog as any other patient. Radar lay still while Nick looked him over carefully, checking the eyes and mouth, and then he began to feel the joints and bones of the right leg. The dog flinched when he touched the leg. Nick felt more gently, but the dog started to squirm, and Sergeant Ward did her best to hold him down. Finally, Nick let go of the dog and turned to the captain.
"I don't think it's broken, but I want to ensure. We had better get some pictures. Let's take a couple of X-rays and see what's going on. DeSousa, see if you can get someone in radiology and have them roll that portable X-ray machine in here so we can look at this."
DeSousa returned to the admissions desk and called the X-ray department to see who was available. Then, after a brief discussion, she put down the phone and returned to the group, standing over the dog on the exam table. Her face had a pronounced frown across it.
"Dr. Nick, you might want to take the dog to X-ray yourself. The only one on duty is Marwan, and he may not understand this procedure if you know what I mean."
"Yes, I know exactly what you mean."
He motioned to the airmen to follow. Nick was concerned as they walked to the X-ray department. Marwan, the Palestinian X-ray technician, was one of those people that he found useless. Besides appearing lazy and bordering on incompetent, Marwan was self-righteous and arrogant. The hospital had a difficult time finding competent X-ray technicians. Marwan knew that replacing him would be difficult, so he exploited the situation to his advantage. Most staff would love to see him fired and sent packing, but they knew it wouldn't happen anytime soon. Nick was sure that he would make things complicated. Worst of all, he might call Captain Faraj.
The group reached the X-ray department and found Marwan standing at the entrance, preventing them from going further. He was not a particularly big man, of average height, and slightly overweight. His round face, outlined at the bottom by a thin beard, had an almost permanent scowl. His forehead bore a dark mark from repeated bruising on the ground during his daily prayers.
"Who's the patient, Doctor Nick?" he said, looking disdainfully at the two American military personnel. In his opinion, the Saudis had disgraced Islam and the Arab nation by bringing these infidels. They were mercenaries brought in to fight another Arab country.
"Marwan, this is an unusual situation. These soldiers have a guard dog that needs its leg X-rayed, and there is no vet around, so I thought we'd help them. After all, we have agreed to help the American forces."
"You want me to take an X-ray of a dog? No! That's haram; my religion forbids me to touch dogs. We only treat people here, not animals. And you bring a woman too. Wallah, this is too much."
The dog began a low growl as Marwan was speaking. Nick could feel his blood pressure rising, but he managed to maintain a professional but assertive tone. He sensed that Sargent Ward intimidated Marwan, something he had not seen before.
"Marwan, all we want to do is take a quick picture of the dog's leg. We'll hold him; you don't have to do anything. We want to use the machine."
The captain spoke up with more than a hint of menacing anger. He looked at Marwan and spoke.
"Son, this isn't a dog; it's a United States Air Force member who deserves proper care as I am. So now you have to decide; will you help him?"
"No, this is a dog, and it's not allowed. This hospital is for people, not dogs."
Marwan sensed that he had the Westerners on the defensive. He couldn't help pressing his advantage, even though he knew well that things in the hospital worked on a mutual assistance system, a system he was now violating. He couldn't pass up this opportunity; this was his chance to thwart the US military and couch it in terms that no one could challenge. Also, before they arrived, someone tipped him off to the dog, and he called Captain Faraj. He was now playing for time. The power of religious zeal spread through his system like fire. He was ready to launch his own personal "jihad."
Captain Brown spoke up again, looking directly at Marwan.
"Son, I don't know much about your religion, but I do know these dogs work hard, keeping us safe, and all they ask in return is our approval. There aren’t many people that'll give you that kind of loyalty for so little, so if your religion doesn't like him, then there is something wrong with it.
As Brown finished, the gaunt figure of Faraj appeared around the corner, walking into the middle of the group. He looked at the dog and then at Nick—a sneer formed on his face.
"Get this dirty thing out of here now. This is haram, and I forbid it. I called security, and they are coming now."
The dog growled loudly and then began barking, which startled Faraj. Sargent Ward shouted a few commands, which stopped the dog. Nick felt like punching Faraj and saw Captain Brown put a hand on his sidearm. Nick knew it was futile to argue with Faraj any further. He realized the Air Force officer had little patience for the local sensibilities and guessed that things could get out of hand quickly, so he decided to back off and try another tactic.
Nick put out his arm, signaling Captain Brown to step back. He then looked at Marwan and spoke slowly and calmly.
"OK, Marwan, have it your way. We'll find another way to treat the dog."
Nick then moved closer to the X-ray tech and lowered his voice.
"I'll personally see that you regret this. Don't expect any help from the rest of the staff. I'll make damn sure everyone finds out what you've done, and we'll make your life as miserable as we can, mark my word."
He ended with a sarcastic remark. "Have a nice day!"
With that, he motioned to the two Americans to come with him. They left the department quickly. As they walked back to the ER, Nick apologized.
"I'm sorry. These guys can be real assholes when they want to. I'll see if we can find other help for the dog."
Captain Brown spoke up.
"Thanks for trying. I'm gonna call my Colonel now and see what else we can do."
Nick replied,
"Before you go, let me wrap his leg and give him something for the pain. I think he's more hurt than he's letting us know."
Nick and DeSousa showed the two Americans and the dog back to one of the tables in the ER. Nick bandaged the dog's leg. He then went to the main desk and called the pharmacy to find out what pain relief he could give the dog. It took the pharmacist a minute, but he came back with a suggestion. Nick hung up and gave DeSousa the instructions. She quickly left for the pharmacy, returning in a couple of minutes with the medicine and giving it to Sergeant Ward.
Nick walked out with the Americans to help them into their jeep. He handed them both appointment cards with the hospital's number.
"Here's my number; let me know how you make out getting him some help. I'd like to know if he'll be all right."
"Thanks, Doc. I know you did the best you could. I don't understand these people. Don't they know we're here tryin' to keep 'em safe?"
"Well, Captain, most of the Saudis want you here, but Marwan's a Palestinian. He doesn't like Americans or Westerners, for that matter. The other one is even more dangerous. He's the Saudi religious officer, and he sees you more as a threat than an ally. Marwan would just as soon see Saddam win or anyone else who can take on the Israelis and return his homeland. It's not very practical, but it carries a lot of emotion with him. I haven't figured out what Faraj wants. I'm not sure he knows either."
Nick finished helping them put the dog in the back of the jeep. They shook hands, and Nick wished them good luck. Then, he stood watching as the jeep drove off. When the vehicle was out of sight, he returned to the ER and saw Marwan, Faraj, and Captain Salim approaching him.
Salim spoke for them.
"Doctor Richards, these men say you were trying to treat a dog here in the hospital. Is that true?"
Nick made a gesture of scanning the area.
"I don't see a dog. Do you? Guess not. So, I don’t know if it is true. A couple of US Air Force personnel stopped by, and Marwan refused to help them. So, the fact that one of them happened to be a guard dog may be irrelevant. They've gone back to see their colonel, and I guess you'll get a call from him in a few hours and a formal complaint tomorrow from Riyadh. We are supposed to be allies and helping each other out, you know."
Nick paused for a moment and then looked straight at Marwan.
"I'm just glad I don't have to answer that call from Riyadh. No, sir, really glad I don't have to take that call."
He guessed that Captain Salim would now blame Marwan for what would soon become a military incident.
A few days later, Nick received a call from Captain Brown. He had gone to see his Colonel and related the problem. The Colonel cursed the local support's incompetence for a few minutes and then wasted no more time ordering a Medivac for Radar. The Air Force flew the dog to an airbase in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, where they had set up a US military hospital. It turned out the dog had a dislocated hip. After consulting with a vet back in the States, Radar was given a rehabilitation course and should return to the flight line in a few weeks. Nick thanked Captain Brown for the news. He made sure he passed it along to Marwan. Colonel Khalid received a curt reprimand from Riyadh for not instructing his people to help the Allied forces. This reprimand went down the line until it reached Captain Salim. Who made sure that he found Marwan and warned him never to do anything like that again if he wanted to stay in Saudi Arabia much longer.