Posted By Sandy Wilson on April 26, 2012
Soldier Dogs:
The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes,
by Maria Goodavage
Photographed by Jared Dort
German shepherds play a key role in defending our nation as military working dogs, many of which are featured in the New York Times bestselling book Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes by Maria Goodavage, including Tina M111, pictured. “If this doesn’t prepare you for Afghanistan, nothing will, “Air Force Technical Sergeant Adam Miller says. He’s talking about the IASK course, a soldier dog and handler training exercise, in Yuma, Arizona. It’s 114 degrees outside, and Miller has to carry his dog, Tina M111, to safety, demonstrating what a handler must do if their dog is injured in battle.
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I recently read the excellent book,” Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes”. It’s a great book if you love dogs and even more so if you have ever trained or owned a working breed. You would appreciate the amount of training and dedication these dogs and the men and women of these dog team units put into their jobs. These teams put their life on the line every day to save lives. Solider Dogs is a book that enables you to feel the strong relationships that these animals have with their handlers, the time, the dedication to do a job, and do it with accuracy. These loving canines, who are loyal to us and committed to protecting us with their lives, are just amazing creatures. These soldier dogs are of all different breeds doing things that us fellow humans are incapable of doing. Dogs have such acute hearing and amazing scenting abilities that enable them to detect threats and save many lives. And more than anything, these dogs provide unconditional love, devotion, loyalty, and protection, all for mere companionship and a simple toy or verbal reward.
What I love and take from this book is so important in working with dogs and that is that relationship/bond that these teams have. The stories demonstrate the love and dedication that these dogs have for their work and for their handlers. They aren’t just treated like equipment, but they spend every waking and sleeping moment with their handlers. That is what most dogs want in life and more so with the working breeds, is having a job. These dogs are happy to work, even when in danger. This is what these soldier dogs are all about – they give you their everything! And for so little in return, but to work for you! The love relationship between handler and dog is just something that you can’t explain unless you have experienced it as a dog owner yourself and especially if you have worked a dog in any training exercises such as tracking, obedience, herding, schutzhund, etc. These heart-felt stories really bring home the meaning of a great relationship between dog and handler. These soldier dogs bring a comfort and love to these soldiers that is just beyond words. If you own a dog that works, you know this is true.
I won’t go into detail about the stories, as that is best saved for reading the book yourself, but I will say the book covers some great stories of dogs doing amazing work that only dogs can do. Furthermore, I like the way the author has really explained how some of these special dogs are selected, how they are trained and how important they really are to the military and to the men and women they share their life with. It is nice to see that these dogs are well respected, taken care of and the men and women that work alongside these dogs truly love them. No one wants to see a dog pass or get injured in war, least of all me, but no one wants to see the men and women of our country serving the military, become a victim of war either. These special dogs, ones that have to meet special criteria to serve, do a very important job in our military, and I think they deserve great respect and should be honored just as our men and women who give their lives for the safety of our country.
If you want to read some heart-felt and wonderful stories about some absolutely amazing dogs and soldiers, then read Soldier Dogs. I think if your a dog lover or just someone who appreciates the abilities of our canine companions and what they do for us, this book is a good read! The pictures are great and the stories are ones of great heroes that include our very own four-legged, furry canines!
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