The Dog Who Could Fly (37 page)

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Authors: Damien Lewis

Tags: #Pets, #Dogs, #General, #History, #Military, #World War II, #Biography & Autobiography, #Historical

BOOK: The Dog Who Could Fly

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Below are two additions. The first, in English, reads:

There is an old belief

That on some solemn shore,

Beyond the sphere of grief,

Dear friends shall meet once more.

There follows an inscription in Czech, which translates as the simple truth: “Loyal unto death.”

Shortly after Antis’s death Robert Bozdech married Maureen, a British woman, and they settled in the West Country, bringing up a family. Robert continued to serve with the RAF—including a combat deployment to Suez—but he never got another dog. He refused to allow his children to get one either, for he had sworn that after Antis he would never own another.

References and Sources

I
n addition to the manuscript cited in the preface to this book, the following works proved enormously useful in clarifying Robert Bozdech and Antis’s extraordinary story. The book
Freedom in the Air
, by Hamish Ross, is a detailed and well-researched biography of Bozdech, one that augments the story of the man and dog’s wartime exploits. Any reader whose interest in their wider adventures has been piqued by reading this book would be well rewarded by getting a copy of Ross’s work. It is especially good in relating the story of Robert and Antis’s adventures after the war, which in their flight from Communist Czechoslovakia were almost as breathtaking as their wartime experiences. In addition, three short books written by Robert Bozdech in Czech—
Gentlemen of the Dusk (Gentlemeni soumraku), Enemy in Sight (Nepřítel v dohledu)
, and
Bombers Attack (Bombardery utoei)
—tell the story of his wartime exploits in the air. But they don’t relate the story of his war dog, Antis.

Acknowledgments

S
pecial thanks to the following: my literary agent, Annabel Merullo, and her colleague, Rachel Mills, at PFD; my editor, Daniel Loedel, at Atria, and his fantastic team, including Judith Curr, Peter Borland, David Brown, Jackie Jou, and Mara Lurie. I am especially grateful to them for coming up with this book’s wonderful title—
The Dog Who Could Fly.
My thanks also are extended to my film agent, Luke Speed, at Marjacq, for his redoubtable efforts as always.

Very, very special thanks are reserved for the family of Robert Bozdech: Robert Junior, Pip, and Nina, and their families, without whose generous and warm-spirited help this book would not have been written.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my wife and children, Eva, David, Damien Junior, and Sianna-Sarah, for putting up yet again with long spells of Dad’s moodiness, while he was locked away in his study writing. Isn’t it always thus, guys?

Here’s How You Can Help a Special Operations K-9 Today

D
amien Lewis supports Special Operations K-9s and military working dogs by donating a percentage of royalties from this book to the Warrior Dog Foundation.

The Warrior Dog Foundation was established by Mike Ritland, who fought as a Navy SEAL in Operation Iraqi Freedom and other deployments. Mike Ritland is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Trident K9 Warriors
and
Navy SEAL Dogs
and is currently working on a third book. He is also the founder of Trikos International, a company that provides private protection dogs to companies and high-net-worth individuals. Mike Ritland created the Warrior Dog Foundation with the sole purpose of giving back to the Navy SEAL and special operations community.

The Warrior Dog Foundation is dedicated to serving the special operations community, their families, and Special Operation Forces (SOF) K-9s. The K-9s employed with these forces operate in the top tier of the working dog world. They are expected to work in the most austere of environments and face conditions that most human beings cannot survive. These are the environments in which these elite warriors
operate. The K-9 units operate in all conditions and are vital to ensuring the success of every mission.

The Warrior Dog Foundation helps to transition dogs from an operational environment to their state-of-the-art kennel facility. This kennel facility is a K-9 sanctuary located on an expansive ranch in Texas. The ranch provides a peaceful transition space for SOF working K-9s as well as a forever home for those unsuitable to be rehomed. They strive to educate the public on the importance of SOF K-9s in the combat environment and showcase the level of sacrifice these dogs give in support of our troops. They care for each individual SOF K-9 with dignity and grace, including both mental and physical rehabilitation for the rest of their lives.

The support needed for these SOF K-9s cannot be understated. There are several ways in which you can make a difference: a monetary or in-kind donation, becoming an advocate for the cause at one of our signature events, and sharing the message with friends on our social outlets.

Without your voice, they have none, so get social and share the value that these K-9s have with everyone. Connect with us today, and on behalf of our SOF K-9s and their families, we thank you for your support.

Sincerely, the Warrior Dog Foundation Team

[email protected]

Twitter / @warriordogs

Facebook / warriordog

DAMIEN LEWIS
is a lifelong dog lover and an award-winning writer who has spent twenty years reporting from war and conflict zones for the BBC, CNN, and many other news organizations. He is the author of more than twenty books, topping bestseller lists worldwide, and his books have been published in more than thirty languages. In addition to
The Dog Who Could Fly
—published in Britain as
War Dog
—he is also the coauthor of two acclaimed memoirs about military working dogs,
Sergeant Rex
with Mike Dowling and
It’s All About Treo
with Dave Heyhoe, which is being developed as a TV drama series.