Stress Sponge Deployment

Man's very versatile best friend gets yet another new job:

Sgts. 1st Class Budge and Boe are headed to Iraq.

Budge and Boe don't have last names: They're dogs. But they now are officially enlisted as the Army's first therapy dogs for soldiers in combat.

The two black Labrador retrievers will be stationed with the Army's combat stress units in Tikrit and Mosul. Their role? To help soldiers deal with the stress of fighting overseas.

There have been mascots for military units and ships before, but never before have dogs been brought to a war zone specifically to help guys get on an even keel. It's a wonderful use of canine TLC.

(Via Cindy in e-mail.)