Cripes! Soldier finds dog! (5)
I believe the answer is:
corgi
'dog' is the definition.
(corgi is a kind of dog)
'cripes soldier' is the wordplay.
'cripes' becomes 'cor' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'soldier' becomes 'GI' (GI can mean a US soldier).
'cor'+'gi'='CORGI'
'finds' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for corgi that I've seen before include "Dog at Buckingham Palace" , "Barker?" , "Welsh breen of dog" , "Dog of Welsh breed, royal favourite" , "Welsh 11" .)