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Dog Aided in Raid that Killed Bin Laden

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May 2, 2011 by 23 Comments

BIN LADEN DOG? A dog like this helped Navy SEALs nab Osama bin Laden.

By now we’re all aware that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday night in a raid in Pakistan. But were you aware that a dog was part of the mission?

It’s true. According to the New York Times, 79 commandos and 1 dog were involved in the raid on the sprawling compound in Abbottabad.

No details are yet available about the exact dog, but an expert on these matters tells us that it was likely one of three breeds. (Click here to read that post.) At any rate, service dogs are nothing unusual for the super-elite US Navy SEALs forces of the type that led the operation on Sunday night.

In fact, military K-9s have even been known to be outfitted in camouflaged bulletproof armor and given high-tech, infrared nightsight cameras complete with camera systems. (These gadgets cost about 20 grand each.)

In the past, military canines reportedly assisted in the capture of Saddam Hussein as well.

The covert raid on bin Laden’s compound by the Navy SEALs “Team Six” took about 40 minutes.

Let’s hear it for the canine component of the mission! This “Bin Laden dog” deserves the world’s biggest milkbone, right? (Or at least a “Bone Laden” chew toy.)

Photo: U.S. Air Force/Flickr.com

 

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Filed Under: Service Animal Tagged With: ,
About David Deleon Baker

Dave Baker, editor and publisher of Pets Adviser, has nearly 20 years of experience in the media industry, including work as a news designer and copy editor at The New York Times and The Nation magazine. He worked at the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, where he and the rest of the staff shared two Pulitzer Prizes for work done in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Before founding Pets Adviser in fall 2009, Dave published a limited-run newspaper for pet owners called Dig & Scratch, which was distributed in New York City. He has a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in writing/journalism from Clemson University. Dave now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Julie, and a cat, Hillary. Read more: About Pets Adviser

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  • Kim Clark

    That dog looks like a crocodile.

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Ha! True. Wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of those teeth. Thanks for stopping by Kim.

    • H

      What was the little doggy’s name?

      • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

        It has been reported that the military working dog’s name is Cairo. No confirmation of breed yet, but one can only assume it’s not exactly a “little doggy.”

  • Lori Rader

    I, like millions of other people are very very proud of our troops, both canines and humans. However, I have not heard anywhere yet what became of that particular canine. With all of the chaos and combat that took place in that 40-minute period, how could anyone possibly keep track of the dog and whether he was injured or killed. Do you know, Pet Adviser?

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Lori, these animals are trained and highly skilled for exactly these types of missions. It’s scary for us to think about, sure, but it’s what they do.

    • Ursula

      Just like with police dogs, the dog has a handler. The handler trains with his dog and he goes into the field (in this case dropped from the helicopter with his dog) with his dog, and they perform their part of the mission together. The dog is not just turned loose and then just left behind. Not sure what you were thinking. They may be animals, but they are valuable members of the unit.

    • Kathy

      I’m wondering the same thing. Please post if you hear.

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  • Linda Brenchley

    Let’s not try to dig too deep re: which dog it was. I’m sure Al- Quaeda would like to kill all involved, including the dog.

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  • Will

    The HuffPo and Daily articles talk about titanium teeth like they are field-issue modifications. I have never heard of such a thing and it sounds kind of cruel. I’m proud of the pup, but kinda sad now too.

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      The titanium teeth is something we weren’t aware of either. Certainly not something we’d advocate. Lump it in with “nutty stuff people do to pets.” But then again, it might be that the military determined that this is what the dogs need in order to stay safe and get the job done. At any rate, from our read, it seems that only a few dogs get this done to them. Worth digging into more.

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Aha, the “titanium teeth” thing was nonsense. Wired shoots down this misinformation in an insightful post: “No, Navy SEAL Dogs Don’t Have Titanium Teeth.”

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  • Gina

    Good puppy dog!!!!

  • John Docent

    Explain to me how 79 commandos fit in 2 helicopters?

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Excellent question! First, there were actually 4 helicopters (2 were backups). Our read is that all of those 79 people were basically involved overall in some way, and a smaller unit carried out the raid. Otherwise, you’re right — doesn’t make sense.

  • Lori Rader

    To Ursula… I am well aware trained dogs have handlers. Many in my family are or have been law enforcement officers, and we had a dog who was part of the canine unit live with us for years. I also know of several instances where a dog has been sent into a building to find a perpetrator or sent after one who is running and the scum has turned and shot and/or killed the dog, handler or no handler. I am assuming that this mission was much more deadly as he probably had supporters protecting him and could have been more like a mini war zone than just a handler, his dog and a perpetrator.

    So, Pets Adviser, I also have to assume that the answer to my question was a no? You still didn’t say whether you knew or not whether the dog was injured or not. Thanks.

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Basically all we know is that a military working dog was part of the team, and that no team member was injured during the raid. That’s not a definitive “no, the dog wasn’t injured,” but it’s close.

  • bw

    Why is the picture a plastic model? To be precise, a Mcfarlane 6-inch Series 3 Air Force Security Forces K9 Handler. C’mon, Pets Adviser, let’s use a real picture for the story.

    • http://petsadviser.com Pets Adviser

      Ack! You’re right. Boy do we have egg on our face. We’ve swapped out the photo with a great pic from the Air Force as now shown above. BW, we’ll be contacting you to send you a free Pets Adviser T-shirt. Thanks for your eagle eye!

      For readers who want to see the photo that fooled us earlier, here it is.

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Disclaimer: Pets Adviser contains personal opinions and is not intended to diagnose, treat or give medical guidance. Consult your veterinarian.