14 Months Alone in Afghanistan? No Problem for this Pooch

Black labs are lovable, loyal and smart ... and it turns out they are pretty adept at surviving in Afghanistan, too.

This week, a highly trained bomb-sniffing dog named Sabi was reunited with his Australian unit more than a year after he was separated from his handlers when insurgents stormed their barracks in the unstable Afghan province of Uruzgan, according to The Associated Press.

Nine soldiers were wounded in the Sept. 2008 battle, and afterwards, Sabi was nowhere to be found. Australian soldiers searched in vain for the dog for months, and had all but given up hope when a US soldier identified only as John recently discovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan. It's unclear how Sabi spent the past 14 months, but officials believed someone cared for her because she appeared to be in good health and quickly responded to the US soldier's commands.

Sabi returned to the Australians' base in the province just before a visit from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday, who seemed to bond with the sweet-looking canine. "Sabi is back home in one piece and is a genuinely nice pooch as well," Rudd told reporters.

For the time being, she will hang out at the base while she is tested for potential diseases. Assuming she gets the all-clear she will be allowed to return to Australia, where she will surely be greeted as the top dog that she is.

Photo courtesy of Manfred Scheid via Wikimedia Commons.