A stray puppy befriended by a US soldier in Iraq has received the green light to move to America to be reunited with his owner.

A rescue operation to fly Ratchet the dog out of Baghdad failed today, however, partly because of a lack of communication between a pet rescue group and the military. The pet is now set to leave as early as Sunday.

Specialist Gwen Beberg, who adopted the black pup in May after helping to save him from a burning pile of rubbish, was delighted at the news.

“I am thrilled that Ratchet is going home!!” she wrote in an e-mail to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, which stepped in to assist her four-legged companion.

An online petition urging the US military to allow Ratchet to relocate to America also gathered almost 50,000 signatures.

US soldiers in Iraq are prohibited from bringing home stray animals but the Department of Defence has made exceptions in the past.

SPCA International runs Operation Baghdad Pups, which helps to transfer Iraqi dogs and cats befriended by US troops back home. The project has facilitated the transfer to America of more than 50 dogs and six cats.

Terri Crisp, the project's representative, was in the Iraqi capital today to help Ratchet and six other dogs. She had to leave without the puppy because he failed to make it to the airport.

The animal society blamed the military for responding too slowly to its requests to release Ratchet from a base south of Baghdad where Specialist Beberg lived.

The military said the pup and could leave at any time. US forces were simply unable to provide the transportation, deeming the trip to the airport an unnecessary risk to soldiers’ lives.

The pet rescue group said that it would make a second attempt to fly Ratchet out of Iraq at the weekend.

Specialist Beberg, 28,is due to return home next month after completing her tour of Iraq. She said that she planned to do a “victory dance” once this happened.

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