Guardsman’s Beloved Canine Companion Comes To El Paso

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember our servicemen and women who have sacrificed for our country, many of them still overseas – away from their families.

One of them is Guardsman Rogelio Vasquez, who is right now in Afghanistan, but he hasn’t been alone. In the desert, he found a sick, helpless dog, and with help and patience, his companion is now in the Borderland.

“We’re a family, we have always been together, everything’s together, and for the first time, we have found each other without a member of the family, and it’s really hard,” said Rogelio’s mom, Marie Claire Seoane.

And it’s perhaps even harder for Rogelio, away from his loved ones overseas. But in the middle of the desert, he crossed paths with man’s best friend. “He was just wandering alone; he didn’t even have teeth when they took him in,” said Marie.

This big German shepherd mix was once a defenseless pup in the middle of a war zone, but one Guardsman gave him a chance.

I’m so grateful Roger cared enough to adopt Bolt and I’m so grateful Bolt was there for Roger, and I just see the whole thing as God’s event,” said Debbie Kandoll, who helped bring the canine to El Paso.

But the event of bringing Bolt to Rogelio’s family was the complicated part. “He’s very loyal; everyone has fallen in love with him,” said Marie.

So in love – Rogelio flew Bolt from Afghanistan to Washington, D.C.

The problem? There was no one to keep Bolt for a night in D.C. and fly him to El Paso. “I love my kids very much and it’s been like having a part of him before he gets back,” said Rogelio’s mom. She wanted that piece of her son so bad, she e-mailed ABC-7.

So we went on the air, asking for help. Debbie Kandoll heard us and called her friend, Melody Kyle in D.C., who then woke up early this weekend and put Bolt on a plane to the Borderland, where Marie got to meet her son’s companion.

“It’s been really difficult for me. I’m a mom. You have to be in my shoes. You have to understand how I have suffered this Christmas, my birthday, Mother’s Day…so it’s like having a little part of him come to me,” said Marie.

To her, and the rest of the family, Bolt is docile, even gentle. After all, that’s why Rogelio and Bolt are so close.

“He’s a dog that helped our guys and girls in the military keep their sanity; it’s so hard there, and it’s great to have a canine companion, literally man’s best friend,” said Debbie.

A best friend who’s now part of an El Paso family. Rogelio is scheduled to return to El Paso in July.