Under the cover of night, deep in the desert of Afghanistan, a US Army
handler led a Special Forces patrol with his military working dog.
Without warning an insurgent popped up, his weapon raised. At the
handler's command, the dog charged their attacker. There was the flash
of steel, the blur of fur, and the sound of a single shot; the handler
watched his dog take a bullet. During the weeks it would take the dog to
heal, the handler never left its side. The dog had saved his life.
Loyal and courageous, dogs are truly man's best friend on the
battlefield. While the soldiers may not always feel comfortable calling
the bond they form love, the emotions involved are strong and
complicated.
In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix
of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military
working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special
abilities-from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous
sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions. The history of
dogs in the US military is long and rich, from the spirit-lifting
mascots of the Civil War to the dogs still leading patrols hunting for
IEDs today. Frankel not only interviewed handlers who deployed with dogs
in wars from Vietnam to Iraq, but top military commanders, K-9 program
managers, combat-trained therapists who brought dogs into war zones as
part of a preemptive measure to stave off PTSD, and veterinary
technicians stationed in Bagram. She makes a passionate case for
maintaining a robust war-dog force. In a post-9/11 world rife with
terrorist threats, nothing is more effective than a bomb-sniffing dog
and his handler. With a compelling cast of humans and animals, this
moving book is a must read for all dog lovers-military and otherwise.
