Aleadingreporteroffersatourofmilitaryworkingdogs'extraordinarytraining,heroicaccomplishments,andthelastingimpactstheyhaveonthosewhoworkwiththem.
PeopleallovertheworldhavebeenrivetedbythestoryofCairo,theBelgianMalinoiswhowasapartoftheNavySEALteamthatledtheraidonOsamabinLaden'scompound.Adog'snaturalintelligence,physicalabilities,andpureloyaltycontributemoretoourmilitaryeffortsthaneverbefore.Youdon'thavetobeadoglovertobefascinatedbytheideathatadog-thecousinofthatfurryguybeggingforscrapsunderyourtable-couldbeoneoftheheroeswhohelpedexecutethemostvitalandhigh-techmilitarymissionofthenewmillennium.
NowMariaGoodavage,editorandfeaturedwriterforoneoftheworld'smostwidelyreaddogblogs,tellsheartwarmingstoriesofmodernsoldierdogsandtheamazingbondsthatdevelopbetweenthemandtheirhandlers.Beyondtalesoftraining,operations,retirement,andadoptionintothefamiliesoffallensoldiers,Goodavagetalkstoleadingdog-cognitionexpertsaboutwhydogslikenothingmorethantobeonamissionwithahandlertheytrust,nomatterhowdeadlytheIEDstheyaresniffing,norhowfartheymustparachuteorrappelfromaircraftintoenemyterritory.
"Militaryworkingdogsliveforloveandpraisefromtheirhandlers,"saysRonAiello,presidentoftheUnitedStatesWarDogsAssociationandaformermarinescoutdoghandler."Theworkisallabiggame,andthentheygetthatpet,thatpraise.Theywoulddoanythingfortheirhandler."Thisisanunprecedentedwindowintotheworldoftheseadventurous,lovingwarriors.