Working Dogs in Iraq
By Brett Simon
Our journey began in April of this year in Denver, Indiana at Vohne Liche Kennels. I arrived later than the other handlers and they were all out in the field training for the day. Bobby one of the trainers for Vohne Liche took me to one of the kennel buildings to introduce to the dog I would be taking to Iraq. I knew very little about the dog, just what we talked about while we were walking to get him out of his kennel.
Out came Mido, a mali, he did not look like your typical mali. He did not look athletic and was a little round about the middle to say it nicely. Bobby told me don’t worry he is an excellent dog. So off we went for a walk while we were waiting for a ride to meet up with the other handlers. Mido just seemed to walk around aimlessly like he was on a walk in the park. I took him to the ob course and he did a few of the obstacles in the same manner like he was bored. I began to think to myself what is going on here with this mali. Were is the malinut that I am so used to, that being my retired dog Ulani van Joefarm aka Nitro.
Our ride showed up and we were taken to the training area where everyone was working their dogs. Mido took it all in stride and never seemed real interested in anything. Our team leader came over and said he was going to lay a track for us and for me to put the harness on Mido. Well here finally came the malinois breed I fell in love with. The harness went on and I had a different dog in my hands. He was pulling, jumping, and barking as I was getting him ready. I was relieved to see that he was ready to go. Mido tracked like he was made to do it, hunting like his life depended on it. We finished the track in record time and he got his reward. I took the harness off of Mido to walk back to the car, it was like a switch he went right back to just walking like nothing was going on. Our first explosives detection problem was next. I got Mido out of the crate to give him a short break, he just looked a few times at the other dogs that were barking and being busy and just went on about his business. We sat off to the side waiting for our turn to go. They called us to come out and I looked at Mido who was just laying there. I put his flat collar on that we use for detection work and the switch was turned on again. He about pulled my arm off going out to the problem area. I was just amazed at this little dog and how he could turn himself off and on. He worked the problem like a true mal, 100 mph and gave a 100 percent.
We finished our detection work and headed back to the kennel, where I was met by Bobby. He knew that I was not too sure about Mido when I left. He walked over to me with this big smile on his face and said I told you. I just smiled back and walked away with Mido.
Oh I forgot the bite work phase, same as before Mido just sat and watched the guy walk out onto the field like he watching the sun set. I gave him his apprehension command and that was all she wrote folks. Mido became a monster and took the guy all the way to the ground.
Here comes the sad part of the story, Mido was taken from me and given to another handler. It seemed that they matched up better for each other and they had a new dog for me. I was some what depressed at the proposition but if it was for the good of the mission then I was okay with it. I know this is a malinois magazine and the article is supposed to be about working a malinois in Iraq but they gave me a german shepherd for my new dog. I did not know what to do; I had been working a mal for over 6 years and fell in love with the breed. My heart sank at first but I knew that the trainers knew what they were doing.
So here comes Hugo, a big beautiful bi-color gsd, he walked around like he owned the place. One of the handlers in the group had worked him for a few days but things did not work out. I took Hugo for a walk to get to know each other. It was obvious from the start that this dog had been hanging around malinois to much because he thought he was one. A ton of energy, a ton of drive, and all business.
Hugo and I finished our training in Indiana and got on the plane for the long ride to Iraq where we would be assisting the army in finding explosives, weapons and track anyone that ran from them.
Once we arrived in Baghdad, it was obvious from the start that we had a lot of work to do with the dogs. The environment was like nothing they had been exposed to. All of the dogs took it in stride and made the transition to their new home fairly quickly. Our first few weeks of training were very short. The dogs were working in 120 degree weather, and tracking on hard desert ground. Now back in Indy Hugo was a tracking machine, defiantly an FH candidate with little work. I could hardly get him to track 20 yards with his nose to the ground. The scent was just gone so fast in the heat and Hugo was not acclimated to the heat yet. It took about 2-3 weeks to get him tracking again. Once he caught on in the new environment we were back to running long hard tracks and he worked them like a champion tracking dog. Hugo became our demo dog for any of the army personnel that came to see how we were doing before being deployed. It was such a nice feeling to just put the harness on and tell him to track knowing that he would do the job.
We were finally deployed to Mosul, Iraq the third largest city in the country with 1.6 million people living in the city and surrounding areas. Mosul is in the northern part of Iraq and was a completely different place than Baghdad. The first thing I noticed was there were trees and grass in Mosul unlike the very harsh desert conditions of Baghdad. I was relieved; thinking let someone run across that big green grass field that I saw near our base. I knew they would not have a chance to get away.
Our first day we were introduced to the commanders and they all immediately fell in love with this big goofy gsd at my side. I was told that we would be working with all three infantry companies on the base. Our main transportation would be a stryker, which is very similar to a tank. Our first mission was to take place the next day.
We loaded up on the stryker not knowing what to expect. Hugo became a lap dog, he kept leaning against me and pushing my hand with his head. He was not sure about all the people, the noises, the smells and just about everything. He just sat on top of me looking at me like what are you doing to me. Since neither of us had been out in the city we did not know what the environment would be like to work in. Once we arrived at our target the army did their thing and then the call came for Hugo and me. We jumped off the stryker and I got my first glimpse at our new working environment. It was not a pretty site; it is just like the pictures you see on the news. People were every where, garbage and sewage in the streets and trash lots bordered a lot of the streets. I thought how is Hugo going to work in this environment. There was no way to train for this before our arrival. I guess the thought never crossed Hugo’s mind because he went right to work. The first object we searched was a large wooden container inside of a house. Hugo not knowing that he is a gsd and having hung out too long with all the mals just ran up to it and jumped right on top of the container and began searching even though he knew better than to have done that. He just looked at me like “hey we are working what is the problem.”
Well that was the beginning of the end. We have been here now for almost 6 months going out 2 sometimes 3 times a day and working Hugo very hard out in the city and desert. Searching houses, buildings, farms, caves, and vehicles, I have lost count of how many searches we have been on since our first day. Hugo never gives up even when we have been out for hours on end. He is always ready to go, he might not be happy about all gunfire and explosions going off while we are working but he puts that aside and works with all his heart. Hugo has done a lot of good work in Iraq and has made many weapons and explosive finds for the army that the insurgents have hidden. We have not had a chance to track anyone yet but he will be up to it if the opportunity comes up.
At the end of the day Hugo enjoys all the attention he gets from the soldiers we work with. As I sit and write this article Hugo keeps bringing me his toy and sets in my lap and waits patiently for me to throw it over and over again. Even though Hugo is a german shepherd and I am a malinois person forever, I was lucky enough to get a german shepherd with the heart and attitude of a great malinois.