Sergeant Takes In Brave Dog Who Saved His Life On Battlefield In Afghanistan

Oct 21, 2019 by apost team

Layka is a decorated veteran who lost a leg serving her country-luckily, but she still has three legs remaining to help her get around! Layka is a Belgian malinois who served as a military combat dog in Afghanistan.

One day, her handler Staff Sgt. Julian McDonald sent Layka ahead of the platoon to check out an apparently abandoned building. Unfortunately, it was not empty and instead there was someone lying in wait for the platoon, ready to shoot them all from hiding. Layka discovered the shooter and despite being shot four times at point-blank range she managed to subdue the shooter and save the lives of everyone in the platoon according to ABC.

apost.com

Layka was in pretty bad shape and had to be rushed to surgery. Although she pulled through, the veterinarians had to amputate her right front leg at the shoulder. As a tripod, she could live a happy, active life as a pet but her military combat days were over. Unfortunately, the military has traditionally been hesitant about adopting dogs trained to attack people out as pets, fearing they will randomly attack people, even though no such attack committed by an ex-military combat dog has ever been reported.

Staff Sgt. Julian McDonald stepped up and demanded the military let him adopt Layka and take her home to enjoy her retirement. Despite warnings about her possible aggression, the military finally agreed and Layka went home. Aggression? Yeah, if licking McDonald's one-year-old son too much qualifies. Now she is enjoying a life of luxury and chasing tennis balls, a well-deserved retirement for a hero dog.

Consider discussing this uplifting and inspiring story with your friends, families, and fellow dog-lovers!