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"Peppy,
I miss you so much.

In this ammo can
are some things of yours

that we will bury
at your grave site.

We were unable
to recover your body,

and I'm so sorry for that.

I put these items
in the can

symbolically for you
until we meet again--

a jute, a Kong,
a leash,

a bag of liver treats,
and your brush.

At some point
when we meet again,

we can sit together
on the green hill

and relax
like we used to.

You did
what I could not do.

You willingly dove
into your only fear, water,

to engage a threat
to your pack.

You did what countless rounds
of ammunition,

frag and stun grenades
could not do--

move the bad man
out of the hole he was in.

Once you pushed him out
the second time,

he was shot four times.

His body was seen
floating down the river
later that night.

We'll never
know who he was,
but this we do know.

He was bad,
he intended us harm,

and nobody else
wanted to go in after him.

You did.

You're a warrior
I hold in the highest regard.

You are selfless love.

God bless you
until we meet again.

Thank you."

- ( dogs barking )
- Trent McDonald: All right,
so now we're gonna chase.

Go, psst.
Come on, come on.

Man:
Stellen!

Go on.
Oh, good boy!

Oh, yeah!

- Halt!
- Man: Good boy!

Hold on, hold on.
Give me a second.

- Oh!
- Man: Good boy!

All right,
pull him off.

Good boy.
That's him.

Stellen!

- Good boy!
- Oh, good.

Oh, good.

McDonald:
Messing with
Belgian Malinois

and using them
as attack dogs is--

to the untrained person,
it's a very stressful thing.

But if you go into it
very clearheaded

and you're fair
with the animal,
it's not...

It actually relaxes me.

We take that dog
everywhere.

You load that dog up
on a C-17,

you strap it down,
and you guys are going
to Afghanistan together.

You don't know
if that dog's coming back

and you don't know
if you're coming back either.

But you guys are gonna
fight like hell as a team

to get back
at least in one piece.

Honestly,
I decided to be a Ranger
to kill terrorists.

That's why.

When they're out there
killing your buddies

and you're out there
killing them, then that's
what it is.

It's not unicorn
and rainbow vaginas,
you know what I mean?

It's the fucking real deal.

I like the thrill
of the hunt.

I like to chase you down.

And I noticed that
when I looked at the dog,

the dog kind of had
the same mentality
that I had.

I had met Benno,

on a professional level,
overseas.

Benno had more time in
and more deployments
than most E-6s

in Ranger Regiment.

Stop and take a look.
That's an invaluable person.

That's an invaluable soldier.
That's an invaluable asset.

That is something
that you cannot go
to PetSmart and get.

So, it was
April 27th, 2012.

It was actually
my birthday.

I think I turned
27 years old.

As we were flying
in to the mission,
I got the squirter call,

which means
we have guys fleeing
from the target compound.

Instantly,
what that does to me

is that says,
"Tonight's gonna be
a good night."

I got over to the radio
and I started singing
"Happy Birthday,"

and the platoon sergeant
quickly got on the radio

and told me,
"Shut the fuck up."

We landed,
and right when we landed,

it was game on.

There was
two military-aged males

running up the side
of this mountaintop.

We did a callout on them.

"Hey, you, this is us.

Please come out
with your hands up.

This is
other coalition forces.

We've been
doing this for 10 years.
You know who we are.

Get the fuck out
of your fucking hole."

The two guys refused to,
so I sent Benno.

And he followed that guy's
footpath to the tee.

Benno bit the guy.

He had a nice,
good, full bite

on the back
of the tricep.

We started to close
the distance on the guy.

The guy wasn't
screaming and hollering
like he normally does.

That's the first thing
that threw a red flag for me.

And I noticed that the guy
is not screaming and yelling

because he is actually
wrestling with this dog,

and he doesn't care
that he has, like--

a bunch of dudes
around him.

And right before
I could put

that safety selector switch
from "safe" to "fire,"

that guy had already
killed my dog.

The guy instantly died.
I grabbed Benno.

I don't know if he knew
he was exactly there or not

or if he was losing
just a massive amount of blood

and he knew he was dying.

He wasn't trying
to bite me or anything,

but he was alive
and he was blinking.

My finger was actually
in the neck wound of Benno.

I looked at the PA
and I said, "Hey, man,
what can we do?"

And he just looked at me
and he said, "There's nothing
we can do."

He said,
"I'm sorry, man."

When we walked off
that target,

you know, I was
still covered in blood.

And I picked up
the phone,

I called my mother
and I called my wife,

and I just let them know

that, "You know,
hey, it's my birthday.

You know, you guys"--

you know,
I didn't tell them anything.

You know,
I just wanted--

I didn't want to talk
to anybody about it.

I just wanted it to be
my fucking birthday.

When Benno was gonna get
cremated in Kandahar,

I came out,
and they had a full-blown,
like, ramp-side ceremony.

The regular Army, everybody,
had gotten together
and done it.

And they gave me a toe tag
and an American flag.

I put it on
an American flag

that I carried
for six deployments.

And on the toe tag it says
"Staff Sergeant Benno,"

and then underneath it,
it says "hero."

And that's kind of
when it hit me that, like--
you know what I mean?

Like, these--
it's not only just me

and it's not only
these Rangers,

but you have, like,
regular Army people

who are, like, crying
because a dog's dead.

When I started
to think about it,

and I saw that toe tag,
I noticed that

they weren't crying
at a dog.

They were crying
at a soldier.

They were upset
because a soldier died.

When I went back
to the kennel,

they had a dog
named Layka,

and that's when
my trainer was, like,

"Well,
Layka's really young.

This is
her first deployment."

I said,
"Yeah, but I want her."

You know, I was like,
"I think I can do something
with her."

Come on.

She kind of has rule
of the roost, you know?

She doesn't get put in cages
and stuff like that.

- They know it, too.
- ( dog barking )

They do what they do
because they're pack animals.

They're always trying
to get above.

They're always trying
to move up ahead.

You know, every dog here
knows that Layka's the one.

I can bring any one
of these dogs out here

and Layka will put them all
in their place,

and she has three legs.

Puppy doesn't want
to play with Layka

because Layka's
too serious.

But she's like
the mother hen.

She keeps
everybody in check.

You know what I mean?
She keeps everybody
in check.

Ain't that right, girl?

This is the only picture
I have of her with four legs.

Everybody always asks me
for pictures of her.

This is it.

Four legs.
Right there.

( laughing )
That's all you get.

It's the only one
I have of her.

And then, you got her.

Look at her.
I'm sorry.

Layka, come on, honey.
Let's not do that today.

Oh, man.
Come on, now.

Make this easy on me.
Mm-hmm.

24 hours
after I got Layka,

I was running targets
with her.

That was my eighth
combat deployment.

You know, I had already lost
a dog at that point in time.

It doesn't really matter
who you're going after

just as long
as you get to come home.

It was only
Layka's sixth mission.

This is all
a very new environment.

- ( whining )
- Layka, she's getting

pretty amped up
on the noise.

All I did
was I just remained calm.

I had been
in that situation

way more than she has.

I needed her
to calm down,

so what I did
was I took a ball

out of my pocket
and I told her to sit.

And when she'd sit,
I paid her.

So all I was doing

is I was just changing
the game for her.

- ( explosion )
- When the dust settles, like,

the whole front
of this structure

was pretty much
dilapidated in.

I looked at the squad leader
and I said,

"Oh, yeah,
I feel good about this.

You know, let's go ahead
and send her in."

As I'm moving through
this dense dust,

I can see Layka's
IR strobe flashing.

You can only see it
through your night vision.

I knew it was my dog
and I went to go investigate
what she had.

That's when
I saw the outline

of what appeared to be
an enemy killed in action.

And I said,
"Okay, this guy is--
he's obviously deceased."

I got up to Layka
and I remember her tail
touching my shins.

And I ran my hands
up past her vest.

I remember my thumbs
touching her camera,

and that's when I grabbed on
to the back of her collar.

That's when
the guy rose up.

It was so loud
and it was so hot.

I had never been
that close

to the opposite end
of the barrel before.

You know,
I definitely thought
that was it for me.

And when
I raised back up,

all the shots
had already went off

and Para Green had came up
through the window

and he eliminated the threat
in about two shots.

That is when I started
to recall Layka.

And I could see her,
and she actually had

what it appeared--
actually it was.

It was her right limb
was in her mouth

and she was trying
to pull it off.

That's when we noticed
that tricep

had been torn apart
by a AK-47 round.

I was like,
"Great, again.

You know, another dog.
Another dog."

It was a sock in the nuts
and and it hurt.

And I remember
getting to the CSH

and thinking
to myself, like,

"If she makes it
through this--

you know, if she makes it
through this, I want her."

Announcer on PA:
Fans, please direct
your attention

to the north end zone
as we welcome Layka

to Neyland Stadium.

Layka is a decorated
war dog

that saved the lives
of American troops
in Afghanistan.

- ( crowd cheers )
- In honor of her
battlefield heroics,

Layka was featured
on the cover

of "National Geographic"
in June 2014,

a symbol of the hero dogs

fighting alongside
US troops.

Let's give a big
Orange round of applause

for the service dog
and hero, Layka.

Oh, my God!
( chuckles )

- Hey!
- Hey!

- Here she is.
- Hi, Layka! Hi!

Hi, baby girl.
Oh, my God.
( laughs )

Look how strong she is.
Look how strong she is.

It's okay, babe.
It's okay, Layka.

Hang on.
You remember this place?

Do you remember?

Daddy knows how
to make you lay down
better than I do.

There you go.
Good girl!
( laughs )

- Okay, good girl.
- McDonald: I got her face.

That looks
so much better.

Yeah, yeah,
it looks good.

Easy.

She does not like
her feet messed with.

- She never has.
- No.

When we first started,
we couldn't do this

- without sedating her
almost completely.
- ( Layka snorts )

She's a pretty lucky dog,
for sure.

Those were some
pretty nasty injuries.

But I can tell you
she's adapted beautifully

because when she was here,
we'd play soccer with her toys

and we'd put
a ball out there,

and she would take
that cast and whack it.

She had great aim.

I mean, she was
a great soccer player.

She'd get mad if you wouldn't
kick it back to her.

Laura Miller:
Oh, God, I love it
when she does that.

It's so freaking cute!

After seeing her,
I just couldn't stop smiling

because
she looked so good

and because
I'm so attached to her.

And that's how
you get with her.

To be a dog
that can attack people

and to be so affectionate
and loving

and just create

those kind of feelings
in people is amazing.

Good girl.
Come on.

Good girl, good girl.

Oh, yes,
she is so much better.

Come on.
Come on, babe.

Good girl.
Good girl.
Good girl.

Good girl.
Good girl.

Come on in.
Go get it, go get it.

Go get it.
Good girl, good girl.

Good girl, good girl,
good girl, good girl.

Good girl.

McDonald:
Layka, did you eat
all my food?

It's really cool
to forge that bond
and build that bond,

because we're more
of a team now than we were

when we were even
in Afghanistan.

Where our bond developed
and where our team developed,

it was developed
when we were out hunting
for deer antlers.

And that's what
she likes to do now.

She likes to hunt
for deer antlers,

she likes pets
on her head,

and she likes to watch
"Grey's Anatomy"

from time to time.

That's her favorite show
is "Grey's Anatomy."

They took it off air,
which about killed her.

But, you know,
every once in awhile,

we get some reruns,
so it's good.

- She likes her "Grey's."
- ( thunder rumbling )

You know, she wasn't big
in combat with me,

but she went through
a lot of life things with me.

After being blown up
in 2009,

I got addicted
to my painkillers.

I mean, she helped me
through that addiction, man.

It was lonely, you know.

My ex-wife takes my kid
and moves all the way back

to Arkansas,
625 miles.

At the end of the day
when everything fell apart,

the only person
that had me grounded was her.

She couldn't speak to me,
she couldn't say,

"Hey, pull your head
out of your ass

and get your shit
together."

No, she could
only look at me,

you know, and console me
when I was, you know,

in pain, trying to get
the stuff out of my system

or, you know,
just an emotional pain

for my-- you know,
my ex-wife taking
my kid and leaving.

I mean, that was tough.

Zoek.

Good.

Layka really helped me
keep my sanity through it all.

She's not a dog,
she's her own person.

She's got her own agenda.

She's got
her own scheduling.

She does her own thing.

I don't know
what it is day by day

what her scheduling is,
but I remain flexible

because she is
very, very needy.

At the end of the day,
I can sit on my couch
and I can look at her

and I can put
my forehead on hers

and, you know,
just take a deep breath
and let everything go

and kind of be
at my place of peace.

And that's-- you know,
that's what feels--

you know, that's what
feels good to me.

Reporter on TV:
Today some North Mississippi

crime-fighting dogs are being
honored in DeSoto County.

North Mississippi reporter,
Michael Clark, joins us live

with the "High 5."
Michael?

K9 units often keep folks
safe in DeSoto County,

but this past week,

patrol units took home
first place

out of more than 100 teams
in an annual competition

held in Indiana.

The three dogs--
Sammy, Mika, and Max--

- That's her.
- appear on our video.

They took home the gold
in the 13th Annual

American Working Dogs
Canine Olympics.

This is from 2012.

On it, it has the name
of the handler.

Paul Leslie,
Deputy Paul Leslie, 2012.

So, there's a good chance
that it's still the same handler
from 2012

that she's probably with.

Woman on phone: Good afternoon.
DeSoto County Sheriff's
Department.

May I help you?

Yes, I'm trying
to get in contact

with someone
in the Canine Department.

Woman:
Do you need somebody
in the Canine Department?

- Yes.
- I can give somebody
a message for you.

My name is
Sergeant First Class
John Dixon.

There was
a military working dog

that I had
worked with, Mika.

A little female Malinois.

- Mika?
- Yes.

Okay.

I think I know
who actually may have had
something to do with that dog.

All right, I will get
somebody to give you
a call back, okay?

- And you were the owner?
- Yes.

- Okay.
- All right, bye.

Bye-bye.

( sighs )
Now it's still waiting.

Man:
Whoa, Mika!
Okay. Whoa, Mika!

- ( chuckles )
- Whoa, zoek!

Man:
Yeah! Yeah!

- Man #2: Yeah, buddy, go.
- Hey, get him!

John:
In 2006, the command
had made a decision

that we'll start
our own Ranger dog program

with Ranger dog teams.

I was fortunate enough
to be one of the four

that was chosen
to go start this program up.

I actually left Afghanistan
a little bit early.

They sent us off
to the dog school.

And that's where
I first met Mika.

As soon as I got there,
they took the four of us

and they paired us up
with a dog

and they said,
"This is your dog."

So, I was a little nervous,
actually, when I first met her.

I was like,
"I don't, you know,

know how to really
approach this dog yet."

You know,
our instructions were

just hold the leash
and walk around with them.

Wherever they want to go,
just walk with them.

It's amazing,
just by holding a leash

with a dog attached
to the other end,

like, how they can pick up

on any little cue
that you have.

You know,
even when we weren't

supposed to be working
or training,

we'd be working
and training,

which for her,
it's not work and training,

for her, that's,
"Hey, Daddy's here.

We're having time together.
It's fun."

And for me
it wasn't really working
or training either,

to be honest with you.

It was fun,
it was enjoyable,

and I loved doing it.

Her being my first dog,
we worked so much together

and I spent
so much time with her.

We built that--
you know, that...

really, really
strong bond.

Whenever she left,
there was only--

you know, there was only
a handful of things

that I could keep,
you know?

I would love
to have kept her with me,

you know, forever,
but, you know, that's not--

it wasn't possible,
so I kept what I could,

and this collar
was one of the things
that I could keep

that, you know, she had
from the time I got her

till-- till the time
she left.

And then the other thing
that I kept was

a picture of her that--
we had all of our dogs.

We had taken a picture
of them and blown it up,

and we put them
in little frames

and we had them hanging
on the kennel walls

so that, you know,
when you came in the kennel,

it'd be all the dogs
up there in a row.

And...

I want to get it
kind of cleaned up.

During the move,
when we were moving,

it kind of got
a little damaged.

But it's the only picture--
the only big-frame picture

that I have,
so I still keep it up.

These were her call signs
that she wore on her vest.

So, she was
wearing this one

on the mission night
where I was wounded.

And, you know,
all that happened

and we got separated.

That actual
brownish-red color

is actually blood
from the mission.

I just never cleaned it.
I just left it the way it is.

I thought about cleaning it
or wiping it off,

but it just--
I just left it
the way it is.

I just feel like

I don't want to change
anything from it, so.

Then this is the kit
that I was wearing

on the mission
where I was shot with Mika,

and it's got
the bullet hole

where it went
through there.

On my eighth deployment,

the second deployment
with Mika to Afghanistan,

the third weekend, we walked
straight into an ambush.

Pretty much
the worst imaginable situation
you're gonna walk into.

It was just
a blaze of flashes
in front of me,

and so all I can do
is hit the ground

and shoot at the flashes.

Mika started going crazy.

The anxiety started
to build in her.

She's want--
she's rearing to go.

I'm keeping her attached
to me the whole time
on a tether

and trying
to keep her calm.

And I start hearing
the radio traffic

that we're taking
mortar fire and rocket fire

from the outlying compounds
that we had passed.

We knew we weren't
gonna push through this
and fight through this.

We knew we needed
to break contact.

We had a AC-130
and a A-10

circling above us,
taking turns

hitting this target.

It sounded
really powerful.

The explosions
looked huge.

I thought the enemy
would just stop shooting
at that point, you know?

But they didn't.

A few of them broke off
with AK-47s

and went down
the backside of the hill

and kind of looped around
and came to our left flank.

I had one hand
on my dog like, you know,

telling her to calm down,

and, you know, bring
my other hand up to shoot.

That's when I just,
you know, felt a hit.

I didn't know
what it was.

I didn't know
if it was a fucking rock--

it felt like a rock.

It felt like a huge,
like, sledgehammer hit me.

When I fell to the ground,
I lost all control over her,

and she was just barking
and making a crazy noise

and rearing
and jumping up and down.

And, you know,
I was trying to get

my dog with one hand
and get my weapon back up,

and I could only
use one arm.

My other arm
just wouldn't work.

And before I could
even think too much,

one of my Ranger buddies
who was running with me,

just grabbed
my carrying handle
on my body armor

and started
dragging me backwards,

and the dog's trying
to run the other direction

towards the people
that are shooting at us.

She's trying
to run that a-way

and barking
and pulling against me,

and that's when

one of my Ranger buddies
popped the tether loose

and he took her
and walked her over
to the side.

( snaps fingers )
Like, just a few seconds
after that,

and then a round hits.

That's kind of
when I lost sight of her

and, you know,
started going in and out
of consciousness.

And that's when...

they slid their hand
under my body armor
in the back,

and they said this--
like, all four fingers

like this went into,
like, a big hole.

And then
they pulled it back some,

and that's when
they noticed, like,

you know, just
the massive amount of blood
that was coming out.

So, then they, you know,
started working on that.

I was tied down
to a stretcher,

and I was being carried.

But I do remember
intermittently

throughout the exfil,

I'd ask about my family,
then I'd ask about Mika,

then I'd ask about
my family and Mika.

My main concern
with my family

apparently was
making sure that

they talked to my wife
and she wasn't mad
that I got hurt.

( chuckles )
And then-- because
I'd always told everybody--

no one, you know,
in my family really knew

exactly what I did
and stuff.

You know, all the BS stuff
that we tell people

to comfort them
and make them feel all right.

You know, "I'm not
really that important.

I don't really engage
with a lot of stuff,"
or whatever.

Of course,
that's hard to hide
once you get injured.

You know, I wake up
and I'm like, "All right,"

you know, "Where did
all my Ranger buddies go

and where's Mika at?"

You know,
they talked to me.

They're like,
"Hey, we've already
notified your family.

And, by the way,
we flew Mika here.
Do you want to see her?"

And I'm like,
"Yes, I want to see her.
Of course."

And as soon
as she came in there

and she seen me,
she tried to jump on my bed.

And the doctors,
they didn't like that
very much.

They're like, "Ah,"
but we're like, "Whatever."

She didn't jump
all the way on the bed,

but, you know, she--
halfway up on the bed.

It made me feel
so much better.

And they had also
taken her out

and they had
explained to me, like,
"Hey, she's gonna stay here"

while I was medevaced
back to the U.S.

'cause they felt that,

you know, she could still
serve the mission there

if they paired her up
with somebody else.

The kennel master and handler
came and picked her up

to take her to work,
and she wouldn't.

She quit.

She would just run back

behind everybody,
cower behind their legs,

whatever the case,
even when there was no danger.

You know, she was suffering
from PTSD from that

and from the separation,
I think.

If the last thing
that you saw

was stuff blowing up,

and then all of the sudden
you don't see

your partner anymore,
you know,

there's all kinds of things
that go through your mind.

At that point,
it becomes the liability

to the dog
and the handlers.

As they realized,
you know,

I was gonna be able
to recover

and get back
to handling dogs

and get back to doing
the Ranger mission,

they decided
that it'd be best

to retire her out
to a police department.

They felt that she was still
a pretty young dog

and she could be useful
in the civilian
police sector.

For the first time,
it was explained to me,

you know, everybody gets
their first dog back.

You're gonna get
this dog back.

That was the ease
that I had.

That was the only comfort
that I had,

knowing that one day,
you know, I would
get that call.

I mean, obviously,
she didn't know

that she was leaving
to go somewhere else.

There was no way
to explain that to her.

Like, "Hey, Mika,

you're-- I'm not
gonna see you again

for a long time,
if not ever."

- Paul Leslie:
Make her sit.
- Boy: Zit.

Blijf. Blijf.

- Now throw it.
Throw it.
- Blijf.

- Blijf. Blijf!
- Throw it.

Go!

Bring it, girl!
Come on.

Your turn, Pops.

- ( barks )
- Leslie: All right, hey.

Let's chill
with the ball throwing.

- She's moving
kind of slow.
- Hey.

- Boy #2: Mika, search!
- Grab the ball.

Leslie:
I really don't have
a whole lot of details

that I know
about her past

other than she came
from the Army Rangers

and she was involved
in some combat situations

that ultimately caused her
to, you know, shut down

as far as working.

I knew that she had had
a handler that had gotten shot

and that she had had
some problems

as far as turning
the light back on

and getting back
into work.

- ( tapping )
- Boy: Come here.

- Boy #2: Come on.
- Hey, come here.

Mika, here.

Leslie:
I had her
about three weeks

before we started
dog class.

We'd come home,
we'd play ball,

and I'd give her a bath
and brush her,

and just slowly starting
to build that friendship,

that bond where she would
trust me enough

to when I call her,
she'd come.

You know,
14, 15, 16 hours a day--

I mean, a lot of people
don't spend that

even with their wives.

You know,
they wouldn't even want

to spend it
with their wives that long.

Mika, hey.

- Blaffen.
- ( barking )

- Leslie: Good girl.
- Woman: Love on her.

- Say, "Good girl."
- Good job!

Leslie:
It's not like
we're baking cookies here.

You know,
we're going after bad guys.

We're trying to get,
you know, drugs and explosives
off the street.

She is just
one of those dogs--

she's one in a thousand,
you know?

You very rarely find

a dog that has
the temperament
that she does,

the social ability
that she has,

you know, the ability
to come in here

and lick
on the kids' faces

and then turn around
and go outside.

And if we had
to bite somebody,

hey, we're all in.

- Boy: Mika.
- I love her
like one of the kids.

It is that strong.

Hello?

Leslie:
This is Paul Leslie.
How are you doing?

Oh, Paul Leslie.
I'm SFC Dixon.

I was Mika's handler

when she was with
the Ranger battalion.

- Oh, yeah.
How you doing, man?
- Good, good.

- Good.
- I'm doing good.

I was trying
to track her down

and find out
what her status is

and how she's doing,
and...

She's doing good.

Obviously,
she's all up there

and she can't--
she moves around
kind of slow,

but she's been doing
pretty good.

She's been
doing pretty good.

- So, she is retired?
- Yes.

Okay. So, how long
has she been retired for?

We just retired her
last month

as far
as paperwork goes.

- Just last month?
- Yeah.

'Cause I was told
that I'd have the option

to pick her up
when she does retire.

I understand, well...

We give the handler
the option

when we adopt them out,
obviously, to keep them.

And I've taken
that option

and that's the option
I'm gonna stay with.

The way I've always
seen it is, you know,
that was--

you know, that was
kind of like a promise

with
the sheriff department.

And then, you know, one day,
you know, like, when--

and especially now,
you know, like...

now I'm not deploying
and stuff

and, you know, we'd be able
to be reunited and so...

I'm just really
struggling with...

with a lot of that
right now.

I'd be more than happy
to get you some pictures
of her

or anything like that.

If you would be willing
to take the pictures.

- Are you there?
- Yeah, I'm here.

I'm sorry, I just,
you know, like I said,

I'm going-- you know,
I'm just thinking about this

really hard
right now and...

uh...

I mean, I got
pictures of her.

I'm not trying to turn down
your pictures,

I'm just saying...

I just feel like I need
more than just pictures.

- I understand.
- Uh...

Well, Mr. Dixon,
why don't you give me
a call back tomorrow?

I've gotta take care
of my little ones here
in just a minute.

Shoot me a call
tomorrow.

Okay, well,
I'll call you tomorrow.

All right, Mr. Dixon.

- Okay. All right, bye.
- All right, bye.

John:
You know, even if
I could pick her up

to go camping here and there,
whatever, you know, like,

I just want
that relationship
back with her

and I want to be able
to help care for her.

I mean, that would mean
a lot for me if I could just...

Even if Paul
doesn't need the help,

I mean, if he would
just let me help care for her,

that would mean
a lot for me,

'cause I feel
that I owe her that.

And, you know, I'd love
to do that for her.

Thank you.

Carlin Dixon:
So, John has this way of...

things about him
where he doesn't--

he doesn't like to show
if something hurts,

or he doesn't like to show
if something's bothering him,

so he just
kind of compartmentalizes

and he deals with it
on his own.

So the picture
that people see
on the outside

is happy John, funny John,
levelheaded John,

but... in his sleep

or in those moments
where it just spills over...

you see it, I mean,
the hurt or the guilt

when he talks about her
or when he goes back

and looks
at those pictures.

There's one picture
we have of the day
that she left.

It was the last day
we spent with her,

and you can just see it
on his face

and you see it on her face
where her ears are just
laid down sideways

and he's holding her
like a baby.

And... that's where
the hurt comes out.

And it spills over.

Most of the time,
he just pushes it down

'cause he doesn't want
everybody else to see.

'Cause, for him,
it's like weakness

and Mr. Big Ranger,
tough guy.

They don't show
weakness.

They don't want you to know
that something hurts.

- Dang!
- ( John chuckles )

- What's up?
- Hey, buddy.
How's it going?

- Good.
- Woman: Hey!

- Hey, man.
- Hey.

Haven't seen you
in 100 years, man.

Yeah, I know, right?

...later.
You want a beer?

- Woman: Yeah.
- Yeah, sure.

- Drink a beer.
- Woman: You're not
in the government now.

- Yeah.
- Where's the Nukes dude at?

Woman:
He's in the backyard.

- John: Yeah?
- Donovan Hunter: Loving it.

He's an old--
retired old man.

But he'll still bite you.
He'll still bite you.
Come check him out.

- He's like superdog.
- John: That's awesome.

- Yeah. Boom,
the sneak attack.
- Hey!

- Yeah, see?
- Look at that.

He probably remembers you.
Come out, come on.

- John: Hey, buddy.
- Woman: Millie.

And you didn't become a snack.
That's good. ( laughs )

- Hunter: Yeah.
- Woman: No.

Trying to get Mika back.

- And then, which--
- Mm.

We'll see how that goes.

- ( yelling )
- Hunter: Yeah, Dixon,

he was just a pioneer
in his own right.

I'd say he's got the demeanor
that works with handling.

You can't be a guy
that shoots off

and gets frustrated.

He's just a real kind,
patient, quiet kind of guy

that worked well.

Sit.

- Good boy.
- ( laughs )

Good boy.
Af.

Good boy.
Yes.

- Rout.
- ( barking )

Good boy.
Yeah.

- Yeah, that's a good boy.
- He's still good.

Still good.
He's like, "Everything's
coming back to me."

- Yeah.
- ( both laughing )

- I am a war dog.
- Yes.

Hunter:
We have the lame sleeve.

Mm. The "I don't want
bruises on my arm" sleeve.

Yeah.

And we have
the fun sleeve.

And the "I'm for sure
gonna have bruises
on my arm" sleeve.

So, whichever one.

Pick your poison.

Very nice, and I know
he knows the smell.

He's probably, like,
right there, like,
"Where is he?"

- Yeah, so he'll--
- Where's that guy at?

He is right here.
( laughs )

( whispers )
What is he doing?

Oh.

- You ready?
- Yeah.

Hunter:
Watch him.
Watch him.

- ( screaming )
- Good boy!

- ( screaming continues )
- Yeah. Good boy.

- ( screaming )
- Good boy.

( laughing )
There we go.
There we go.

Good boy.
Good boy.

He did not want
to release that.

Yeah, that was good.
He's still got
a strong bite.

Still got a chomp.
Good!

Once he got
his mouth full on it...

Good boy, good boy,
good boy.

That's pretty good.

( laughs )
Oh!

He's like, "I want more."

"There's more!
I still see the sleeve!"

Good boy!
Good boy!

Hunter:
I think Dixon
is still kind of where I was,

just waiting on the word.

He's in the waiting stage.

Getting Nuke back...

he's that final thing
that's bridging and making

what I used to do
an actual reality.

And he lives
in my backyard.

And I get to see him
every single day

and remember all that--
everything we did.

Hunter:
When I look at him
and know

that he did
every single thing
that I did

for the last three years
of my career and--

he Rangered up
just like everyone else did.

And his transition--
he could care less.

Like, he's a dog.

He's not struggling
with it.

It's like
if he's not struggling,

like, I don't
have to struggle with it.

John:
It's awesome coming here
to see Nuke with Donovan.

It really
kind of drives it home

that, like, this is
the way it should be.

It should be like this
for every, you know,
dog team

that serves the country.

It should be us out there,
you know, on the grill,

tossing little pieces
to Mika and Nuke, you know?

But Mika's missing out
of that equation,

and I believe that
she should be here with us.

Woman:
Are they all in?

No. Oh, okay.

Hold on, hold on.

Oh, hold on.

Part of yours
fell out.

Okay.

No, Rollo.
Get where you're supposed to.

Leslie:
At first, it was shocking.

You know,
we've had her this long

and I didn't know
anything about John.

And then to tell us
that, you know,

"I was promised her.
I want her."

- That's the first
we had ever heard of it.
- Yeah.

- Well, that's a promise
we never made.
- Yeah.

I have never talked
to John Dixon

up until recently
on the phone.

I don't look at it
as we were stuck being
babysitters.

No, I don't look at it
like that.

We absolutely
got the better end
of this bargain.

- Come on.
- ( chatter )

- Bye, hon.
- Bye. Hey.

- ( boys yelling )
- Woman: Quit fighting! Shh!

Woman:
And we don't even look
at her as she's a dog.

We don't
consider her a dog.

- I mean, she's...
- Yeah, I mean, she's--

- She's a human to us.
- Yeah.

Woman:
And then to say
you want her,

"I was promised her,"
that was...

I'm not gonna lie, I cried.
That was upsetting.

I'm like,
"Is this true?

Are we gonna lose her?"

Well, I'm not
gonna lose her,

'cause she's a--
you know,

- she's a part
of the family.
- Yeah.

It'd be like,
you know,

one of my kids
were gone.

Carlin:
Most nights,

you can tell
that he's dreaming
about something,

whether it's
trigger squeezes
in his sleep,

and if he's got
his arm on mine,

then I feel his finger
squeezing triggers.

But a lot of nights
it's still

calling out her name
when it's that scenario

of getting-- the night
that he got hit
all over again,

so he'll,
"Mika, Mika."

Or just one big shout
of "Mika."

There's a lot of things
that, you know--

that I never
want to forget.

But at the same time,
I don't want to think
about them ever either.

And some of them thoughts,
you know, they just--

are hard to go away.

And it's not that you want
to completely, like,

pretend that
it never happened.

I mean, you kind of do,
but it's impossible.

But what you can do
is take your mind off of it

by doing things,
you know?

You know,
I spent a lot of time
on deployments,

a lot of time doing things
that, you know--

that aren't normal.

And... this is
very normal.

Very simple, very normal.

You know, it's not like
I'm trying to run

from my feelings or anything,
like I said.

It's like,
you've just gotta get away
from it sometimes.

Like the pressing thing,
like, even with Mika,
you know?

I can't stand
giving up on things.

I just keep
fucking whacking it.

Oh, yeah,
this one's a monster.

Carlin:
One of my biggest fears

and one
of his biggest fears

is that she's older

and...

the thought of her passing
before he gets to see her

and have that guilt
lifted off of him

and have that release
of knowing that she's okay

and that she's happy
and that she's healthy.

And that that will--

that pain will stay
with him forever

is like hell.

Because if he can't

find a way
to let that go,

then it'll always
be there.

You know,
like that hole forever.

'Cause it doesn't matter
how many new dogs

come in and out,
she's there.

And if he can't know
that she's okay,

then it's...

he's not okay.

John:
To finally pinpoint, like,

I found her, this is her,
this is where she's at,

and then get shut down
and turned away again,

it's just all that comfort
is just gone.

I mean, you know,
I was still holding on

to this little bit of hope,
this little bit of hope,

but every time,
it gets a little harder
and a little harder.

And, you know,
I'm just trying not to let it
completely crush me,

but, you know.

And that's why I gotta
keep going at it,

and, you know,
it's gonna happen, so.

John and Carlin:
I pray the Lord
my soul to keep.

Let angels watch me
through the night

and keep me safe
till morning light.

- Amen.
- Amen.

- All right.
- All right.

Give Mom a kiss.
Good night.

( kisses )
Love you.

Dave Nielsen:
There's the war
after the war

that you don't know
is coming.

You might hear about it.

I heard about it

from my Vietnam friends.

But you don't know it's coming
until you're in it.

For a lot of years
I was angry at myself

and at a lot of things
and confused.

Because it may be just a dog,
but she was my best friend.

So, after Pepper died,
you get to where

you realize you have
to move on with life,
and you do,

and it's a process
to figure it out.

At this point,
10 years later,

I want to talk
about this.

Basically, I got home
after my last rotation.

I put it all in a box
and haven't looked
at it since.

This was her.

Sort of first photo
as she first got to the unit.

This is a-- just a map
of where she died.

I think I fed her
out of this napkin.

Or brought some steak down
from the chow hall for her

the night
before she was killed,

and then it was still
in her kennel,

so I just
wrote her name on it

and tacked this up
somewhere.

This is a letter
I wrote to Pepper

that I forgot about
till just now.

"Peppy,
I miss you so much.

In this ammo can
are some things of yours

that we will bury
at your grave site.

We were unable
to recover your body,

and I'm so sorry for that.

I put these items
in the can

symbolically for you
until we meet again--

a jute, a Kong,
a leash"...

So, while I can't say
what the unit is,

I can say
that I tried out for it
and I made it.

And it was the absolute
greatest day of my life

when I made it.

My daughter
hadn't been born yet,

but getting selected
after selection was amazing.

I asked if I could be
a canine handler.

Went over to the kennels.
I was shown around.

I was shown all the dogs.

All of them were males

except for one dog
named Pepper,

this Belgian Mal
who just sat there

in her kennel
and looked up at me.

And, you know, I could
look down and see her,

and she looked at me,
and-- just a cute little dog.

And I asked,
"Why is this dog here?

Is she somebody's pet?"
( chuckles )

"No, she's a working dog.
She'll dirty up just fine.

Don't worry.
We've seen her bite."

And I still
didn't believe it.
She was small.

She was 50 pounds,
if that.

She also had
a hyperintelligent look
in her eyes.

That she would tilt
her head

but look at you,
and you could--

I could tell
she was thinking
and feeling.

I don't know why
I fell in love

with her instantly,
but I did.

We're trained
in a dog handler's course

to not turn them
into a human being,

but it's so hard not to.

I mean, the dog hugged.

She hugged me.

She came up,
put her arm around me,

and put her head
against my neck.

( chuckles )
I don't know

how dogs do that,
but she did.

She was hilarious.

I mean, I could tap
my shoulder right here

and she would jump up,

spring up in the air
and land in my arms,

and then just sit there
and look at everybody.

It was almost like she was
trying to get laughter.

She was a lapdog

who became a beast of fury
on target.

I wanted to establish
a bond between us

'cause I knew we were getting
ready to go to war.

It was coming
within months.

I didn't really know
what I was doing either,
to start out.

Nobody does
with a new job.

You learn each other's
movements and voices

and just-- you learn
each other's subtle cues.

And I learned hers
and she learned mine.

If I turned left,
she would move back and left.

I mean, we just--
the more we worked together,

the more we got in sync.

I taught her to bark.
There's a command
in Dutch to bark,

which most people
don't do.

Why would you want
your dog to bark

if you're going to a target
and you're trying to be quiet?

I taught her to bark
because I wanted to give her

the counter command
to be quiet.

Stil, which is
"zip it, be quiet."

Saturday afternoon,
she came up next to me

and just flopped her head
on my chest.

And I laid back
and we--

she fell asleep,
and I just let it happen.

And...

she would lick my face
or nuzzle my ear.

And that's really
what I was going for,

was that bond
that couldn't be broken.

It was really like
having a sister

or just a great friend
at my side

all the time
in war.

It was a very special bond
that happened with us.

When we would lose a man,
when somebody would get killed,

and it's real quiet
in the house

and nobody wants to talk
and they can't sleep anymore,

and people are sad,

then Pepper comes out
and sits in their lap

and makes it
a little easier.

I would just
hear people laughing
down the hallways.

She was making her rounds.
She would go and see people.

She would make--
she would visit the guys.

About once an hour,
she would just come up

and I could feel her nose
on my hand.

She would just come
and nudge me a little bit.

I'd pet her a little bit.
She'd lay back down.

She served
way more of a purpose

than helping
to find bad guys

or sniffing out a bomb.

"Eternal."

That's a strong word.

( whispers )
Hey, Pep-Pep.

Hey, Pep-Pep.

The more I think back
on it now, the more I...

really think there was

an element
that can't be explained.

Just a link
between man and dog...

that special
doesn't do it justice.

I mean,
it's a profound thing

going on there
between handler and dog

that's nearly impossible
to explain.

It was a rough night

because my friend had
just died the night before

and we had been
woken up early

to plan
for this huge thing,

so we didn't have
much sleep, both of us.

We landed, and Pepper
and I got out.

It was on the bank
of the Tigris River,

and it sloped down
steeply.

It was a muddy slide down
into thick brush

where the person
was hiding.

There was houses
right there,

and kids live
in those houses.

It was too close
to level it.

We tried for hours
and hours.

I was getting close.

I wanted
more than anything

to be able
to shoot the guy

and not have
to send Pepper.

So, she's in drive.
It's pitch-black at night.
You can't see anything.

She's running up
to the other teammates,
her pack.

She knows it's them.

She's almost going to them

for permission
to go after this guy.

She's going up
to each guy.

I sent Pepper once.

She went after this guy,
disappeared into the brush.

10 minutes,
15 minutes later,

she came back to me
up the hill,

sort of sluggish
and all wet.

And she didn't like
to swim.

She didn't like water,
so I knew she had been
in the water.

I'm checking her.

I had been
trained medically

to search the dog
for any issues.

She sort of comes back
to life.

You know, she gets the pep
back in her step
and she's okay.

I tried to love her up
a little bit,

but she didn't want that.

She wanted to go work.

She knew
where the guy was.

I knew that she knew
because she was pulling on me

and she wanted
to go there.

She wants to bite
like nothing else.

After hours of trying,

I decided
to send her again.

And she sort of sprung
through this high grass
a little bit

and turned back
and looked at me,
which she didn't do.

She just had this look
that I hadn't seen in her.

She was thinking.

She was looking at me
and thinking something

and she was feeling
something as well.

And I'm looking at her
through my night vision,
and it was just,

"I love you
and I'm doing this for you,

and see you later."

She went over
into that brush,

into the spider hole
where this guy was hiding.

After she pushed the guy
out of the hole,

and he moved to the right
down south on the riverbank,

- the team went after him.
- ( gunfire )

Now it's time
to find Pepper.

And she wasn't coming
back to me.

I asked everybody
on the ground

to start looking for her.

There was a lot of people
there that night.

Everybody's searching.

After five minutes,
they said, "We found her."

And so,
oh, I was relieved.

And then they said,
"Oh, I'm sorry,

it's just
her marking device,"

her light that had come off
of her somehow,

and it had to be
in a struggle

because it was secured
to her working vest.

So, we knew that she had been
in a struggle.

These teammates
and these brothers of mine

and these uncles to her,

already cold and wet,
but they got colder
and wetter

by searching
in just nasty, wet,

swampy holes that nobody
would want to go into.

It was her family.

Her family
was looking for her.

Her brothers
were gonna do everything

they could do to find her,
recover her,

and help her just like
she had done for us.

There was just a...

a sadness
that came over everybody.

I could feel it.

And, at one point,

I loaded up with another guy
on a helicopter

and we were
just flying sideways

looking for her
on the bank of the river.

We did everything
we could to find her.

Nobody gave up.

We had to be told,
and more than once,

to abandon the search.

The call came
that the sun's up.

It's light.

We're gonna get
people killed

if we stay here.

And it started to set in
that I'm not gonna get her.

The helicopters
picked us up.

We flew five minutes
back to our house.

Then when I hit
the ground there,

the sun was up
by that time,

and I knew that was it.

And I had her kennel,
her empty kennel,

and I just took it out
and threw it

and walked back
to the house.

No, but I started
to have that dream

that night
and many nights after

where I'm looking down

and she's running
back and forth

where she's supposed
to be picked up,

where the helos came
and picked us up.

She's looking for me,
and I can't--

you know,
I can't get there.

I wonder if we love each other
as much as they love us.

This is the strobe light.

So, when they said,

"We found your strobe--
we found the dog,"

this is what had come off.

You know, it blinks.
I thought they found her.

And then the look back
is what really--

why I really question
everything.

I still think about it.

I'm still
very much bothered

and tormented
by my decisions.

And I don't think
without the rapport
that we had,

without the relationship
we had,

I don't think
she would've done it.

Mm.

Oh, there she goes.

And it was just clear
to me that...

my daughter has a daddy
because of Pepper.

Yeah.
It made sense.

- Girl: Go!
- Nielsen: What does
yellow mean?

- Slow down!
- "Slow down,"
that's right.

"You're almost there.
Stop at that tree.

Climb the ladder to...
a dog party."

Look at the dogs' party
with cake.

I would have put myself
in harm's way

or sacrificed anything
that I would

for a human being
for Pepper.

We don't fight
because we hate the bad guys.

We fight because we love
who and what we love.

And she was the same way.

I have my personal
spiritual beliefs.

I think
I'll see her again,

so I know one day,
we're gonna meet up.

And I just want to thank her,
and my daughter does, too.