It’s not every day you get to meet a real celebrity. But Madison Elementary School (MES) Pet Club got to do just that. Tom Hanks? Will Smith? No, not people celebrities—dog celebrities. Not Lassie or Benji, but Sandy.

You won’t see Sandy in any movies or on TV. Not long ago, you would have found her in the harsh surroundings of Afghanistan. That is, until her new best friend, hero and dad, Eric Pierce, found Sandy and her two brothers while the soldiers were out on patrols. The pups were just a month old and had no idea how much their lives had just changed.

Eric and the other soldiers in his camp adopted the three pups, caring for them when not out on operations. It wasn’t long before the pups had taken a very special place in their hearts. So destiny took over.

The pups were named. Frank the Tank, Chuck the Truck and Sandy, whose story started to evolve. The soldiers gave the pups what they needed to survive and the pups reciprocated in kind. Until the horrible day Eric’s commander told the soldiers that they had to get rid of the dogs.

They could not disobey their commander, so the pups were taken 12 miles away. They knew the very strong reality was that they would never see the dogs again. The commander told the soldiers that if one of the dogs returned, he would pay the transportation fee to send it to the United States. Days later, Hank the Tank returned—extremely thin, but back. What a miracle.

But sometimes miracles can happen more than once. A couple of days later, Sandy showed up. Eric knew he had to do something, so he called his biggest supporter back home, his mom. He told her he had to send Sandy home to the United States and a drive was begun to raise money for Sandy’s adventure. In the meantime, Chuck the Truck joined his siblings. Not wanting to leave the sole sibling behind, another soldier said he would send him home.

Eric’s mom, Maddy Pierce of Embden, Maine, knew that Eric would need $4,000 to bring Sandy back. They had a little over $600 given to them from friends and family, but they were running out of time. So, Maddy contacted the local newspaper and the story found itself on the front page. This is where MES Pet Club, along with many people in and out of Maine, comes in.

When MES Pet Club saw the story, members voted to donate some money they had raised for the local animal shelter. The school’s principal also made a donation. The total given by MES was $150.

The next day, Betty Abbott brought in the donation and asked, “What happens if not enough money is raised?” The teller smiled and said not to worry, the balance is well over what is needed. In the end, $24,000 was given. Everyone at school was elated. The pet club kept the whole school informed of Sandy’s adventure by posting updates on the club’s bulletin board.

We wanted to continue to be part of Sandy’s adventure, so when we approached Maddy about the possibility of meeting Sandy and Eric, she was happy to set it up—Eric and Sandy visited Madison Elementary School April 30. Sandy was a real lady and Eric a gentleman. The pet club made Sandy an honorary member, presenting her with a bandanna with the club’s logo. We all got a chance to practice how to approach a strange dog, even though Sandy was hardly strange by then.

Pet club members interviewed Eric. Then we were off to help Eric purchase supplies for our local animal shelter. What a sight we were in Wal-Mart that night. A wagon train of pet food and other supplies with pet club members, their parents and Eric and his family the conductor. The pet club helped Eric spend more than $2,100 for supplies, which we delivered to the animal shelter that evening, filling both of their empty supply areas.

Tired and hungry, we headed for McDonald’s as Eric and Sandy’s guests. What a great time we had that day. One I’m sure we will never forget.