By Donita Naylor
SCITUATE, R.I. -- A bomb-sniffing dog will be reunited with his former handler, a Marine who received a Purple Heart for his injuries in Afghanistan, at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony Friday at the Rhode Island State Police headquarters.
Former Lance Corporal Bradley O'Keefe is traveling from his hometown in the Rochester, N.Y., area to be reunited with Earl, his former partner, whom he hasn't seen since the day the black Labrador retriever alerted O'Keefe to the presence of an explosive right before it blew up.
Earl has been working as an explosives-detection dog for the state police. He will be retired from that work at the ceremony.
O'Keefe knows about the reunion. For Earl, it's a surprise.
The public is invited.