MILITARY WORKING DOGS OF THE AFGHANISTAN WAR
As Paws of War honors America's 250 years of independence, we've been telling the stories of animals involved in our military history. We’ve come to the multi-year, conflict that cost the lives of 2,459 US military personnel between October of 2001 and August of 2021. The war with Afghanistan marks the inception of the organization's efforts to find, rescue, and reunify the animals our troops initially found and bonded with while overseas -- and would otherwise have been forced to leave behind.
The military working dogs utilized in Afghanistan served as Specialized Search Dogs, Combat Tracking Dogs, and Patrol Explosive Detector Dogs.
Lucca was one such dog; she completed 400 patrols and detected 40 IEDs without a human casualty. She lost a front leg to a blast and was the first dog to be awarded the PSA Dickin Medal.
Dyngo served three tours, was recognized as helping to secure the safety of 30,000 American and Coalition forces, and was awarded a Bronze Star.
The two most famous dogs to serve the nation in its fight against those who perpetrated the terrorist attack on New York on 9/11 were Cairo and Conan.
Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, was part of Navy SEAL Team 6. This dog was trained to parachute and sky-dive, to fast-rope out of a helicopter, detect booby traps and explosives, and to perform tactical bite work and tracking. During a vicious, nighttime firefight in 2009, he was shot in the chest and in a front leg. He was evacuated, underwent surgery, was rehabbed, and returned to fight again.
Wearing a high-tech Kevlar vest that afforded audio and night-vision capabilities, Cairo later took part in the successful 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan.
His name was the only one of the team's to be released by the government. Cairo was brought to meet President Obama at his request. He retired from military service in 2013, was adopted by his handler, and lived two more years of a life that had finally become peaceful. He was posthumously awarded the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery.
Conan, another Belgian Malinois, served with Delta Force. During his training, he and his handler rappelled 600 feet down the Hoover Dam in preparation for war. He took part in 50 combat missions in the war on ISIS that had spread from Afghanistan after that war wound down, with its terrorist perpetrators scattered across the Middle East.
The dog tracked and discovered ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hidden in a dead-end tunnel during a 2019 raid in Syria. The infamous terrorist leader was cornered. He detonated his suicide vest and died, while Conan sustained injuries but survived despite being shocked by uninsulated electrical wires.
He recovered, was honored by the White House, and completed his active duty with Delta Force.
It's the incredible bravery, loyalty, valor, and dedication of such dogs that inspire Paws of War. It's the intensity of the bonding between service members and the strays they adopt overseas that constantly reminds us we must never fail them. As long as there are wars, we will be steadfast in pursuing our mission of "helping both ends of the leash."
