Dogs
always seem to be an intricate part of people's lives. Maria
Goodavage's latest book, Top Dog: The Story of Marine
Hero Lucca, is a true story that is also a riveting thriller
with action-packed scenes, heart-pounding combat sequences,
high tension, and suspense. It is the story of two heroes,
one male and one female, one four-legged and her handler.
The author shows the passionate relationship between a military
working dog and its partner.
Top Dog is the story of a German Shepherd-Belgian
Malinois mix, Lucca, and her dog handlers, Marine Staff Sergeant
Chris Willingham and Marine Corporal Juan "Rod"
Rodriguez. The intensity of the book is presented from page
one, where readers find themselves immediately rooting for
Lucca. Unlike other books the author skillfully goes back
and forth between Lucca surviving an IED bombing and how she
became such an important part in the effort to save her fellow
Marines' lives. The reader is taken on a six year journey
with Lucca from her youth in the Netherlands, her formative
months in Israel as part of the elite Israeli Oketz K-9 group,
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the death of her best four-legged
friend, to losing a leg and being adopted by her handler and
his family. A Specialized Search Dog, Lucca belongs to a group
trained to work off-leash at long distances from her handler.
She served alongside both Special Forces and regular infantry,
and became so sought-after that platoons frequently requested
her by name. But this is more than a war story, it is also
about the extraordinary bond that developed between Lucca
and Marine Corps dog handlers Chris Willingham and Juan Rodriguez.
Chris Willingham commented, "Military dogs have drive,
loyalty, intelligence, are trainable, can handle the rigors
of combat, and can take directions. The handlers have to be
independent thinkers, mature, responsible, have confidence
in themselves and the dog, but are never cocky. Being a kennel
master at Pendleton, and a supervisor for all the Marines
and the military dogs including training and operational readiness
I can tell a special dog. I personally think the best breeds
of dogs for the military are the German Shepherd and the Belgian
Malinois because they are the easiest to train. Lucca being
a mix of both these breeds had the best of both worlds. I
know all handlers think their dogs are the best but she is
truly the best. She is a real Marine and we are called a team
for a reason."
Kris Knight a fellow dog handler and a supervisor will be
retiring this month. He is called the "dog whisperer,"
since he knows so much about training a dog. (Gpscanine.com)
He describes the relationship between Lucca and Chris as "the
perfect match. They are absolute rock stars. Like one in a
thousand who did something no one else will be able to duplicate
during my lifetime. They had such a rapport. Too bad she could
not be cloned. She went on over four hundred missions and
no one lost a life to an IED."
It is
not necessary to read the first book in the series, Soldier
Dogs, but in doing so readers will get an understanding
of military working dogs as a unique part of the military
tapestry. This book goes into great detail about the military
working dog program, the training of these dogs, their deployments,
and their retirement. While researching this first book the
author was able to speak with Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham
about his time in Afghanistan when he was kennel master in
charge of 30 dog teams. Maria later connected the dots and
found out that Chris was the handler of Lucca, and decided
to write a follow up book that would concentrate on this special
dog and her military partners.
Maria noted,"I decided to write these military dog books
because the program is so important regarding the number of
lives saved. I put this quote in Soldier Dogs, 'There is one
response that the Taliban has no answer for: the soldier dogs.'
Lucca would frustrate the insurgent bomb makers because she
was so smart, calm, and heroic. She saved those serving from
getting killed, hurt or maimed. Lucca was one of the first
off leash US military dogs, which allowed her the freedom
to find the explosives, a great force multiplier."
Top
Dog is an appropriate title for this special canine.
This book is a great present for the holidays. It is a very
heart warming story since this heroic animal and her Marine
buddies had an unbreakable bond. Everyone should read this
book if for no other reason than to be a part of the deep
loving relationship between Lucca and her handlers, where
they overcame the endless brutalities of war and the traumas
created by this violence. |