Soldier returns from Afghanistan to find his friend SOLD his beloved Labrador retriever on Craigslist while he was away

A soldier has returned from Afghanistan to discover his beloved Labrador was sold on Craigslist during his eight-month deployment.

Brandon Harker, a soldier based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, is now appealing for help tracking down the beloved animal, Oakley, whom he has had since he was a puppy.

When Harker returned home this week, he was excited to see the two-year-old purebred yellow Labrador retriever, whom he had left in the care of a friend.

But the friend told him the dog had been given away - without giving an explanation as to why.



Devastated: Brandon Harker returned from Afghanistan to find his dog, Oakley, had been sold on Craigslist

'My friend just said they "got rid of him",' he told the Examiner . 'They never gave me any other explanation. He would say, "I don't know who we gave him to" and "I don't know their phone number".'

Harker has now turned to Craigslist and social media to appeal for help to track down the dog.

Fox13 reported that he has been contacted by numerous people who said they had seen the animal listed for sale on Craigslist in February.

But Harker said he thinks the animal could have been sold in Lakewood, Washington at any time during his deployment, which stretched from November 2012 until July this year.



Missed: Oakley is two years and four months old and Harker has had him since he was just eight weeks



Taken: A friend simply told Harker that the animal had been given away - but would not give any more details

Harker has also been calling local veterinarians and shelters, hoping to track down the dog, who is micro-chipped and registered.

The dog is two years and four months old and Harker has had him since the animal was just eight weeks old, he told the Examiner.

'He thinks he's a lap dog, even though he weighs 100 pounds,' he said. ' I've had him since he was a puppy. It's heartbreaking.'

He described the dog as having 'a unique coat - on his face he has spots of a darker yellow (champagne), he also has spots of the same color going down his sides and legs'.

Heartbroken: Harker was serving in Afghanistan for eight months and returned home this week

Plea: He has now put his own ad on Craigslist in a bid to track down his beloved dog, who is microchipped

He said that the dog is also good with children and other dogs.



'I am just trying to get him back since he was wrongfully given away or sold without my permission while I was deployed,' Harker said in his own Craigslist posting.