Bomb-Sniffing Dog's Return Celebrated in Cartoon

Current events are rarely the sources of inspiration for the Draw the Dog Web site, recently created by former Disney animator Jim George and Westporter Bruce Kasanoff.

But when a bomb-sniffing dog who went missing a year ago was found this week in Afghanistan, both George and Kasanoff thought the good news was something to celebrate.

Sabi, a black Labrador, disappeared in September 2008 during a battle in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters.

Months of searching yielded no results until this week when a U.S. soldier found Sabi at an isolated patrol base in Uruzgan — the same province the battle was held last year. Sabi was returned to her Australians handlers this week.

No one knows where she has been or what she's endured the past 14 months, but she was found in good condition, indicating someone had been looking after her.

When hearing how Sabi survived the battle and the Afghanistan desert for a year on her own, Draw the Dog founders wanted to mark her story in a cartoon.

"That was just good news, which you never get from Afgahnistan or Iraq, so we thought we should stretch out this moment a little bit because people could use uplifting news," Kasanoff said.

"After reading the news reports and watching the videos, in fact, we developed a theory why Sabi came back," Kasanoff continued.

He said the cartoon explains it all, which shows Sabi standing proudly between two large armored chests full of tennis balls.

"We thought that's like a dog's dream come true," Kasanoff said.

The Draw the Dog founders are always looking for inspirational stories about canines. Kasanoff said anyone can submit photos and stories of their dogs to the site, which might inspire George to draw them.

To check out the site or make your dog famous, click here.

For more on Sabi's story, click here.