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The Unbreakable Bond Between A Marine and
his Military Working Dog
Mike Dowling
Atria Books
Dec 13, 2011 / 978-1-4516-3596=6
Non-Fiction
Amazon
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
A heart-warming book is Sergeant Rex by Mike Dowling with
Damien Lewis. This is not a war story but the tale of a partnership
between a German Shepherd military dog, Rex, and his handler, Mike.
The book is about a friendship set during the Iraq War.
The plot shows how Rex and Mike developed complete trust in each
other while facing dangerous situations. As a bomb detection/patrol
dog, Rex, and his handler Mike went on missions with the reality
of having to constantly face death while searching for IEDs. Deployed
in 2004 Corporal Mike Dowling and Sergeant Rex were the first military
working dog team sent to the frontlines since Vietnam. They both
were able to stay focused on their mission that would save American
soldiers lives. Rex's job was to sniff out booby traps, suicide
bombers, and IEDs while Mike's job was to control Rex and keep him
focused.
Dowling said that he wrote the book, "to make the public aware
of military working dogs by detailing my own experiences. We were
the only bomb detection team for the entire Marine battalion in
Iraq. I thought that Rex is a very special and outstanding dog worthy
of having his story told. I wrote this book to honor him."
What every dog lover will like about this book is how Mike talks
for Rex. Most dog owners humanize their dogs by speaking their thoughts
for them. For example in the book after Mike stumbled into an open
drain, dragging Rex in with him, Dowling had Rex commenting, "Partner,
you know what this smells like? No, I guess you don't-not with that
nose." Mike noted about speaking for Rex, "I actually
think Rex thought of himself as a Marine. I did it to try to show
his personality, to show what he was thinking. I knew what he was
thinking because we had such strong bond. He was an extension of
me."
Even though the setting is in a combat zone, there is a lot of humor
in the book. Dowling cites many instances when he and Rex are in
the middle of a combat situation and Rex decides he is going to
become an 'ordinary dog.' Mike stated, "Dogs are naturally
funny. They do things that will make you laugh and smile. For example
Rex decided to chase a rabbit when he was supposed to be searching
for weapons and bombs. I wanted to show that as horrible as combat
could be it is also humorous at times."
The book is also informative, allowing the reader to understand
the qualities behind a handler and a military dog. The handler must
be patient, strong-minded, a self-starter, somewhat of a loner,
and someone who takes the initiative. A working military dog needs
to have stamina, loyalty, athleticism, intelligence, and a drive
to learn. Dowling tells how a handler must be a jack-of-all-trades:
trainer, groomer, psychologist, and vet.
This is a heroic tale of a dog handler, who will do everything in
his power to protect his dog, and Rex, a military dog, whose duty
is to protect the Marine battalion in Iraq. Throughout the book,
Dowling makes it crystal clear that "as long as I'm still breathing,
no one is harming my dog." Sergeant Rex is an insightful
book about the unbreakable human-canine bond that is a must read.
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