Tosca and Sgt. Thomas Wrinkle (2025)

There is a bridge in Pennsylvania that honors native son Marine Sgt. Christopher Wrinkle and his military partner, a sable-coated Dutch/Belgian Shepherd dog named Tosca. 

In 2011, on the 30th day of Sgt. Wrinkle’s deployment to the Herat province in Afghanistan, he awoke to flames. As his unit rushed to evacuate the burning barracks building, he heard Tosca’s bark and darted back inside to save her. Sadly, both perished in the fire, along with Staff Sgt. Patrick Dolphin and Sgt. Dennis Kancler. At 29, Chris Wrinkle lost his life trying to rescue his beloved Tosca.

Sgt. Wrinkle personally trained Tosca to detect bombs and track enemy combatants. His unit members recalled that they were inseparable partners. Like so many military working dog teams, they had already saved the lives of other Marines and each other a few times. As a multi-purpose canine handler, Sgt. Wrinkle developed an expertise for training dogs, honoring a personal passion for canine company that started in elementary school. He also honored his family’s tradition of involvement with the military profession, training dogs for the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Observers noted that he devoted his free time to placing dogs that couldn’t cut the Marine regimen with police departments. Tosca, however, was special. Their bond was noticeably iron-clad.