Gunner was adopted in Afghanistan by the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team and is a big white ‘wolf-like’ dog with a shaggy coat that is perfectly suited to the harsh rugged hills of Afghanistan.
May 2008, Afghanistan, NZPRT 11. Gunner, with Major Syd Dewes.
The KT1 dog Gunner, with Major Syd Dewes.
Gunner is powerful, tough and full of energy and loves the snow, even when temperatures drop to minus 20 degrees. He mostly sleeps outside and will only use the kennel that was built for him when it rains. He’s grateful for the occasional bone thrown his way and scoffs every scrap of leftovers.
Gunner is loyal, fiercely protective of the Kiwi base and enthusiastically welcomes home soldiers when they return form daily patrols.
Major Syd Dewes had such a soft spot for Gunner that when he got home from deployment, one of the first things he did, was go out shopping for worming and flea tablets so he could send them to the remote Kiwi patrol base in Nayak, where Gunner serves as a guard, a pet and a mascot.
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