He was by their son's side when he died in Afghanistan, and now Dino will be the constant companion of Salvador and Sandra Diaz.
"Dino will be our baby," Sandra Diaz told The Associated Press. Staff Sgt. Christopher Diaz, 27, was the military dog's handler. Diaz was killed in September 2011 when he went to help a fellow Marine who had been wounded. The Los Angeles Times reports that an adoption of a military dog can take place if it will help a family with grieving, as long as the canine does not have the dog version of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dino was deemed eligible for adoption, and the Belgian malinois was discharged from active duty Sunday at Camp Pendleton. He will now reside in El Paso, Texas, living at a house with a swimming pool and a giant backyard.
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"We know that he's not going to replace Christopher but what he'll do is give us a little something that Christopher loved, and that was the Marine Corps and that was Dino," Salvador Diaz said.
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