U.S. Marine Says Goodbye To Service Dog With Community Support

A U.S. Marine said goodbye to the dog he served with overseas.

Anthony Marquez said his dog Allie was there for all the good and bad times and embodied what it meant to be man's best friend. On Friday community members showed Allie love and appreciation before she was euthanized today in Collinsville.

Marquez said he got Allie as a bomb dog right before deploying to Afghanistan in 2011. While there, they patrolled some of the most dangerous places in the world together, creating an unbreakable bond. Marquez says when they got back to the US, he didn't see Allie for three years. He then adopted her in 2014. Marquez said she is just as much of a hero as a soldier. He said the grieving process will not be easy for him.

Sergeant Matt Amos, who was Marquez's squad leader in Afghanistan, said even in the worst of times, Allie was Marquez's bright light.

"I'm going to be sad for a while," Marquez said. "I understand the concept they talk about, but obviously grief's a part of life. Love and grief...what would life be without it.

"When you have an extremely bad day, where you've lost people, you can come back, and you know that dog is going to be there to love you unconditionally as well," Amos said. "So there's an extremely deep connection there."

Marquez and his brother made a mini-documentary called Operation Allie which can be seen above.