Afghan dog dies months after arrival in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — A stray dog that Marines serving in Afghanistan adopted as their unit mascot has died months after schoolchildren raised money to help bring the friendly canine to Indiana.

Capt. Matt Taylor tells WISH-TV that the white and tan dog, Alice, had been tired for a few days before he took her recently to a veterinarian. He says she died that night of liver failure, but the cause of her illness isn’t known.

Taylor and other Marines serving in Afghanistan adopted Alice when she was a sickly stray. Her health improved, and she became their unit’s loyal mascot.

Students at Lebanon Middle School raised more than $1,000 to help pay for Alice’s long journey to their central Indiana city last spring when the Marines’ unit left the war-torn nation.