Saving a puppy in Afghanistan

This is Bill. Bill's no ordinary puppy. He was a special little guy who captured the hearts of some battle-tough Marines in Afghanistan.

Back in July, a group of Marines from the 3rd Platoon was on patrol near a small village in Afghanistan.

A man walked up and handed them a box with Bill inside. He was about 10 days old, and barely alive.

At first, no one knew how to care for the young pup. They tried several ways of feeding Bill, but nothing seemed to work.

Finally, they filled a plastic syringe with milk and covered it with the finger of a medical glove, cutting a small opening in the tip. With a little practice, Bill began to "nurse" like a pro.

As a newborn Bill needed around the clock supervision and regular feedings, about once every three hours. Soon he grew healthy and became strong enough to explore his new home.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan met Bill while reporting in Afghanistan. Here she is pictured with two of his caretakers: Sgt. Jon Staffen, on the right, and Sgt. Adam Lenier, otherwise known as "Bill's mom."

"Bill was just ridiculously cute," said Logan. "I mean, ridiculously."

But Bill's time at the base was growing short. Sgt. Staffen and the Marines of the 3rd Platoon were rotating out of Afghanistan. Staffen planned to move Bill to a shelter in Kabul and then, once they raised the money, fly Bill to the U.S.

"But they had a problem," Logan said. "How were they going to get Bill to Kabul? Even to the shelter. And so being the journalist, I was instantly like, 'I can do this.'"

Lara Logan tucked Bill into her lap and flew him all the way from the desert of South Afghanistan to the country's capital, Kabul.

"I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the rules that I signed that says you can't smuggle a tiny baby puppy out of Afghanistan, to try and get him to safety," Logan said.

After first spending time at the CBS Bureau in Kabul, under the care of bureau chief Larry Doyle, Bill was taken to the animal sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Staffen continued to raise money to fly Bill to Louisiana.

And then Logan got the news.

"I had just landed in the Midwest. It was late at night," Logan said. "And I opened my email and there was a note from Jon Staffen that said that he'd heard from the shelter. And that Bill had parvo."

Bill had come down with parvovirus, a common problem in kennels. It is especially deadly to puppies.

Within a few days, Bill was dead.

But Bill's story doesn't end there. Sgt. Staffen had raised several thousand dollars to bring Bill to the United States and he wanted to put that money to good use. So he called Logan with an idea.

His idea turned out to be Holly, brought from an uncertain life in Kabul all the way to Louisiana, where she lives in happy comfort today.

"And he chose this beautiful dog who is now here, in the U.S.," Logan said. "He used the money that he'd raised for Bill to bring this dog over. And it really was comforting, in the end."

"It really was like it hadn't been for nothing," Logan said. "It was a great thing to do. I think it made everybody feel just a little bit better."

Read more about: Lara Logan and the unforgettable "Bill"