Awww. MIA bomb dog rescued after Afghan drama.

< --- Her name is Sabi and she went missing for over a year after seeing heavy combat.

From ABC Radio Australia News.com:

The dog, named Sabi, was found by an American soldier at an isolated patrol base in north-eastern Uruzgan last week. The black Labrador was declared MIA in September 2008 during the same battle with the Taliban in which Special Air Service (SAS) Trooper Mark Donaldson won a Victoria Cross.

Sabi was present with her handler when their combined Australian, US and Afghan National Army convoy was ambushed by an insurgent force. Nine Australian soldiers, including Sabi's handler, were wounded during the engagement.

Sabi spent more than a year in the desolate south of Afghanistan.

The US soldier who found her, and who can only be identified by his first name John, was aware Australian SAS soldiers were missing one of their dogs. He said it was immediately obvious that Sabi was no ordinary animal. "I took the dog and gave it some commands it understood," he said.

She was flown to Tarin Kowt to be reunited with one of her trainers, who knew instantly it was Sabi. "I nudged a tennis ball to her with my foot and she took it straight away. It's a game we used to play over and over during her training," the trainer said. "It's amazing, just incredible, to have her back."

Trooper Donaldson is at present in Britain after meeting the Queen.

At the time of her disappearance, Sabi was coming to the end of her second tour of duty in Afghanistan, having previously been sent to Uruzgan in 2007. She will now undergo a period of quarantine before a decision can be made about the timing of her return to Australia.