I'd like to introduce the late, great, Alex the Wonder Dog. There has never been a more courageous and loyal dog. Before moving to Africa, we were living between small apartments in Somerville, Mass. and New Orleans, with no chance to have a dog. When we arrived in CAR, we heard that the Bahai missionary couple which ran the Peace Corps auberge had puppies to adopt. We brought Alex home and had an instant bond with him, he was our best friend and loyal companion. Alex followed us from CAR to N'Djamena, Chad and then on home to the United States before finally succumbing to liver cancer on New Years Day, 2001.

People always ask me, 'Was it hard getting your dog through immigration and customs?' Honestly, no. We had no problems whatsoever. Before leaving Africa we had a vet come and verify that Alex had all his shots and then signed and stamped his vaccination card. This was all of the documentation that we needed, but we were nervous because it was in French. So, we also asked the nurse at the embassy to make up a health document for him. She said, 'I don't know anything about dogs, but I'll give you something.' She wrote a quick note out on embassy stationery that said, 'I have looked at Alex and he looks okay to me.' Bingo, that was the only thing we needed.