Craig Grossi found Fred in war-torn Afghanistan and wrote 2 books about how the dog helped him gain control of his life, making the pair in-demand public speakers and Fred a social media star.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
In 2010, Craig Grossi was part of a group of Marines trying to hold its ground in a small town in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He saw Taliban rockets up close, and he saw comrades fall.
He also saw a smallish white and golden dog – a mutt with some corgi and lab features – scavenging for food in the battle zone. Grossi was impressed with the dog’s apparent smarts. He was putting up with desert heat to forage during the day, avoiding fights with other stray dogs in the battle zone, who mostly came out at night. Grossi, who always wanted a dog growing up but never had one, decided to approach the canine and offer him a stick of beef jerky.