National K9 Veterans Day: 3 Heroic Retired Military Working Dogs

3 Heroic Retired Military Working Dogs

1. Chips

   

   Source: US Army

   Chips, a German Shepherd/Collie/Husky mix, was an American K9 that served in World War II and was deployed with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division to North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. Trained as a sentry dog, or guard dog, Chips proved that his bravery exceeded his training on numerous occasions. 

   One of Chips most courageous actions took place during the invasion of Sicily in 1943. Chips and his handler Pvt. John R Rowell landed on the shore of southern Sicily. As they made their way inland, a hidden machine gun began to open fire. Chips broke free from Rowell and raced into the hut. He attacked the gunners and forced the surrender of four enemy soldiers all by himself. 

   Later that night, after being treated for wounds, Chips alerted his handler to an infiltration attempt by ten Italian soldiers and helped to capture all ten men. 

   Chip’s heroism was memorialized in a 1990 Disney movie entitled Chips, the War Dog.

2. Cairo

   

   Source: 3 Million Dogs

   Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, was an American K9 Veteran that served in the War on Terrorism as a Navy SEAL dog alongside his handler Will Chesney. 

   Cairo began serving in the military in 2008. By 2011, Cairo had served in many missions and sustained life threatening injuries in the course of his service. Even after making a full recovery, Cairo’s future as a military working dog was uncertain and he wasn’t expected to redeploy. 

   In March 2011, Chesney received a call that they would be deployed on a top secret mission to raid Osama bin Laden’s compound. Cairo and Chesney were the only canine team to raid Osama bin Laden’s compound. Like his handler, Cairo was equipped with specialized equipment, including body armor and heat vision goggles. They searched the perimeter for bombs and escape tunnels before entering and clearing the main house. After the successful mission, only one hero’s name was released, Cairo.

   Chesney wrote a book entitled No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid to tell the story of Cairo and their incredible bond. 

3. Lucca

   

   Source: PSDA
   

   Lucca, a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix, served in the United States Marine Corps for 6 years as a tactical explosive detection dog. 

   Over her 6 years of service, Lucca was deployed to Iraq twice and to Afghanistan once. She was adept at She led over 400 missions, protected the lives of thousands of troops, and is credited with at least 40 confirmed finds of insurgents, explosives and ammunition. Most notably, no human casualties were ever sustained during her patrols.

   On her final mission in Afghanistan in 2012, an improvised explosive device detonated near Lucca. While she survived the blast, the massive explosion severely injured Lucca and led to the amputation of her front left leg. 

   Following her recovery, Lucca retired from service and lived happily in California with Gunnery Sgt. Chris Willingham. In 2016, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals unanimously voted to award Lucca the Dickin Medal, Britain’s highest award for valor by a military animal, making her the first U.S. military dog to receive the medal.

   Maria Goodavage told the story of Lucca’s life in the book titled Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca.