By Kirk Maltais In a poignant ceremony Saturday, the family of a Marine killed in the Afghanistan war adopted the bomb-sniffing dog that was by his side throughout his last days. The ceremony, held at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, California, was to honor Staff Sergeant Christopher Diaz, 27, who was killed September 2011 while deployed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. The dog, a six-year old Belgian malinois named Dino, was deployed with Diaz in Afghanistan. He was uninjured in attack that killed Diaz. The family traveled to the military base to adopt Dino, who was pictured with their son in a photograph he sent from Afghanistan before he was killed. Dino was officially retired by the military, and given tests to ensure that he did not suffer from the canine equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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The family of Staff Sergeant Christopher Diaz, who was killed while deployed, picked up the dog at Camp Pendleton, in California
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The dog, Dino, is a six-year old Belgian malinois that sniffed out explosives in the war
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Diaz's mother: It's going to be helpful - we'll have something to hold on to
The results showed that Dino was of the right temperament to be adopted by the @placeholder's.