I always seem to get more choked up over the death of a dog than the death of a human. There must be something in their innocence and unyielding loyalty that makes me linger on images like this every single time. While iwastesomuchtime.com (I know, but it's addicting) typically displays funny internet memes, statuses, and comics, sometimes a meaningful image like this appears and makes me stop for a minute. Sometimes that's all rhetors really want from their audience: a moment of thought and appreciation towards the topic displayed.
Just like in O'Brien's How To Tell A True War Story, I think the death of animals is used to draw emotion from the audience, especially because the death of soldiers unfortunately faces apathy from the general public in today's world. The composition of this photo draws the audience down the soldier's arm to the sweet dog below, then pulls our attention to the memorial that the subjects are looking at as well. Here we see a memorial for 25 dogs that have given their lives, perhaps unknowingly so, for the noble pursuit of freedom. The man and dog staring at the memorial are paying their respects, (even if the dog doesn't understand the significance of the memorial) and the man is taking a moment to show his best friend his love.This makes the audience aware and grateful for the jobs of dogs in the military that perform jobs humans are incapable of doing.
This image is meant to catch the audience attention and maintain it long enough for them to appreciate the value of dogs in the military and all that they do as man's loyal best friend.
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