RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The owner of a military dog is hoping to lay his dog to rest at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission.
Nick Caceres was a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps when he was stationed in Afghanastan in 2011.
Sgt. Fieldy was a military bomb-sniffing bomb who served three tours overseas, one tour alongside Caceres.
“There, you never know where they [the bombs] are at,” Cacares said. “Without him, I mean, there was some times where it was just a suspicion. And sure enough, it was a bomb.”
After Fieldy retired, Cacares gave him a permanent home by adopting him. At 15 years old, Fieldy’s health was deteriorating, and the family decided it was time to let him go.
“The whole time he was watching out for me when we were over there,” Caceres said. “I can’t even put it into words.”
Fieldy was cremated Thursday and now, Caceras would like for the dog to be laid to rest at the State Veterans Cemetery.
Because military dogs aren’t allowed to be buried at Veterans cemeteries, the request will take an act of Congress to move forward.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez introduced a bill titled ‘The Sergeant Fieldy Act,’ which would allow the burial of military working dogs in any open national cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration.
“We need to pay our respects to our four-legged friends who stand with us and keep our men and women in uniform safe on the battlefield,” Gonzalez said. “I think that the least we can do is give them the respect that they deserve.”
A ceremony was held on Thursday honoring the life of Sgt. Fieldy.
