Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles "Chuck" Shuck needs your help.

The former Lansford man, who is currently residing in Waynesville, Missouri, has started a campaign to purchase at least 4,000 copies of the book "Gabe: The Dog Who Sniffs Out Danger" and then distribute them to military children by Christmas. Gabe, a yellow Labrador who won the heart of millions through his work as a bomb sniffing dog in the military and was the 2012 American Humane Association's Hero Dog, was Shuck's best friend until his unexpected passing in 2013.Since then, Shuck has kept his memory alive and was delighted that Gabe's story was shared by the American Humane Association in this book.About the bookWritten by Thea Feldman, illustrated by Chris Danger and published by Simon and Schuster, "Gabe: The Dog Who Sniffs Out Danger" looks at Gabe's work in the United States military, the Amazon.com description says. The book is part of an emerging series based on the annual American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards."Meet Gabe. Gabe had an important job: He used his canine sense of smell to find weapons before they hurt anyone. Gabe saved lives! When he wasn't sniffing out explosives in Iraq, Gabe spent his time cheering up wounded soldiers in the hospital and visiting schools across the United States! Read his action-packed story to find out more about what he did and what made Gabe a hero dog," the description reads.About the campaign"I had the idea one night (for this campaign) when I saw a picture of Gabe and I at a library reading program," Shuck said."Reading has always been a top priority for me and it stems back to when I was in second grade and Mrs. Beth Duke read us 'Charlotte's Web.'"Kids today have video games and all sorts of other gadgets so I wanted to get a book back into their hands, even if it's for five minutes."Shuck said that so far, the community support has been "amazing" and commended those who have been so generous to donate both books and money to purchase additional books.The books can be ordered on amazon.com, as well as Barnes and Noble and Books a Million.Shuck said that he is accepting money as well as copies of the book.For more information on how to donate books or funds for this project, email Shuck at

cshuck99@yahoo.com.