Zero Bark Thirty -- Maureen Callahan, New York Post
How to train a dog of war, like Osama bin Laden’s nemesis Cairo, who lend our SEALs a paw.
Perhaps the most astonishing detail to emerge from the raid on Osama bin Laden was the presence a most unusual soldier: a dog named Cairo, a Belgian Malinois who’d gone through the canine equivalent of SEAL training.
On that mission, he was responsible for helping to secure the perimeter of the bin Laden house, sniffing out bombs and, if necessary, attacking enemy combatants. He wore a Kevlar vest with harnesses for rappelling and parachuting, a drainage system for waterborne assaults, and a night-vision camera with a 180-degree field of vision.
What made Cairo most valuable on this raid, however, were his intrinsic gifts, ones that cannot be replicated or simulated by humans or machines, and which give the United States unquantifiable advantages in the theater of war.
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My Comment: These are incredible dogs .... and they save lives. Personally .... I love dogs .... and I have been very lucky over the years to be the proud owner of a Bordie Collie and a German Shepard. When they past away .... it did feel like losing someone in the family. As for today ..... because of my travel commitments it is now very difficult for me to be a dog owner .... fortunately .... my GF owns a Rottweiler and a mix Rottie who always want to play .... so I do get some "dog time".