Warrior Pups (True Stories of America's K9 Heroes)

Lavishly illustrated with full-color photos throughout, Warrior Pups takes you behind-the-scenes into the lives of the fiercely dedicated military men and women and their civilian supporters who make the US Military Working Dog program the success that it is. It has been estimated that during its six-year career in the field, each Military Working Dog saves the lives of 150 American and coalition soldiers by detecting hidden IEDs and disrupting ambushes. Emmy-Award-winning broadcast journalist Jeff Kamen and his wife Leslie Stone-Kamen were granted unprecedented access to the closed K9 world of trainers and handlers inside Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, the headquarters of the US Military Working Dog Program, and into the lives of the civilian and military volunteers who foster the baby pups. At any given moment, there are an estimated 700 young dogs in various stages of training at the base. Some are purchased overseas and arrive as canine adolescents. Other warrior pups are born at Lackland. The program is led by canine behaviorist Dr. Stewart H., who everyone at Lackland simply calls "Doc." His apporach to dog training is founded on a deep love and respect for the dogs. The Dog Training School's superb instructors hone the dogs’ innate drives to hunt, fight, and protect. The dog/handler team goes first into battle ahead of the troops, sniffing out hidden IEDs, booby traps, and ambushes. American K-9 units are so effective that the enemy often targets them first. The only way handlers can summon the necessary courage is to have rock solid faith in the abilities of their highly trained dogs. Warrior Pups captures that courage, faith, and love on every page.