Last year, I checked out all the books in the dog section of my library as part of a reading challenge. There were 26 books in all, and it took me weeks to finish the last page of the final book. I did not expect the library to host a “National Dog Month” event mere weeks after my own reading challenge, and to source a dozen or so new books.
No Ordinary Dog was one of those books. It tells the tale of Cairo, a Belgian Malinois who took part in the raid that finally took out Osama bin Ladin. It’s also the tale of Will Chesney, AKA Cheese, his dog handler.
Let me prepare you dog lovers in advance, the first 4 chapters are not about dogs. Instead, Will lays the backdrop for the story by explaining what it means to be a Navy Seal, taking you through the process of becoming one.
After reading “My Life in Seven Dogs” which had dogs in it but wasn’t really about dogs, I was prepared to dislike this book. No matter how fascinating a topic may be, or how interesting their lives are, if you’ve got a dog on the cover and a dog in the title, that book better be about dogs.
No need to worry though, No Ordinary Dog leads up to the dog portion of the Navy Seal program in Chapter 5, and you’ll be thankful for the tour of military service once they do. Military dogs are apparently trained and held to just as high a standard as their human counterparts.
There’s no doubt about it, Cario was an amazing dog. He saved a lot of lives, he was incredibly brave, and clearly well loved by everyone who met him.
I don’t want to give any spoilers away on Cairo’s life, but I will say it is a worthy read if you are interested in the life of a military assault dog. Will has a knack for storytelling and is honest about the scars left behind by war, the tragedy of death, and what really goes on behind the scenes.
It was a great read, and though it takes a few chapters to get to the actual dog part, it’s worth the wait. If you’re looking for a long weekend of entertainment, I suggest pairing this with the DVD “To Be of Service” which we reviewed earlier this year.
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