Posted on 04/17/2020 8:34:24 AM PDT by RightGeek
When Navy SEAL Will Chesney first met a military working dog named Cairo, he didn’t know this canine would be The One: a fearless warrior with a soft side, an attack dog who would know the difference between a baby and a bad guy, the lone non-human US soldier to raid Osama bin Laden’s compound in 2011.
Nope. Back on that fateful day in 2008, after Chesney decided to become a dog handler, he took his first instruction seriously — these dogs weren’t like pets. They were lethal weapons.
Despite that warning, handlers are dog people, and they know how profound this bond is. As Chesney writes in “No Ordinary Dog,” his new memoir of life and military service with this storied veteran (co-authored with Joe Layden), “Cairo was not my first choice. Might as well be honest about that.”
In fact, it was a dog named Bronco that Chesney wanted. Bronco was friendly; Cairo was standoffish. Bronco sometimes wanted to play; Cairo was all about work. Yet after two weeks of training, even as Chesney realized that Cairo was the exceptional dog, he was still resistant.
“You’re getting Cairo,” a program director told him. “He’s the right dog for you.”
Chesney shrugged.
“Okay, cool.”
Off they went to a seven-week training camp in California, where they bonded hard and fast. “By the second night, we were sharing a bed,” Chesney writes, “though I do recall pushing him off in the middle of the night for being such an aggressive snuggler and blanket hog.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Cairo had been shot in the chest and front leg. He was bleeding out, struggling to breathe, his eyes closing. The call went over the radio.
“FWIA!” — friendly wounded in action. There was no distinction between human and canine. Cairo was a SEAL.
Man’s best friend. Or worst enemy.
Good read.
“My screen got a little foggy when I read this.”
I got some dust in my eyes.
I’m going to buy this book on Amazon. Thanks for posting.
Tissues required.
Canines are the best feature of this world.
God bless you, Cairo.
Since I bought my first house in 1966, I have had 13 or 14 different dogs. I have NEVER owned a dog that DID NOT sleep on the bed.
Calif king bed= 1/2 Lab 1/2 Great Dane ++ Aussie/McNabb cattle dog ++ New Zealand Heeler cattle dog== last pack.
All 3 on bed == about 18” left for me on one side. ALL were space hogs.
When I had only one dog===had a prowler on summer night when windows were open. Dog crawled over my legs & growled
VERY low. Woke me up. Grabbed 12 gauge under bed...racked a shell-—RAPID steps disappearing from windows. SMART DOG.
ALL were space hogs
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It is funny (depending on your mood) and amazing. You could have 15 king size beds side by side but when they know you are going to bed, they will in the one spot you want to be when you go to get into bed. And then look at you like the world is going to end if you ask them to move.
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