FESTUS, Mo. (AP) - The family of an eastern Missouri soldier killed in Afghanistan is getting his specialized search dog.
Thirty-two-year-old Army Staff Sgt. James R. Ide was part of a unit that came under fire from insurgents in August in Hyderabad, Afghanistan. The married father of two young children was a handler of bomb-sniffing dogs.
His dog, a Belgian Malinois named Ddaphne, was with him when he was killed. Fellow soldiers have described the pair as buddies.
Fort Leonard Wood said that after Ide's death, his family asked to adopt Ddaphne once her mission was complete.
The dog will be given to Ide's family during a ceremony Thursday at their home in Festus, about 30 miles south of St. Louis.