Review of War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History and Love by Rebecca Frankel

 

Read for: Requested Review/ Netgalley

 

 

Synopsis: "Under the cover of night, deep in the desert of Afghanistan, a US Army handler led a Special Forces patrol with his military working dog. Without warning an insurgent popped up, his weapon raised. At the handler's command, the dog charged their attacker. There was the flash of steel, the blur of fur, and the sound of a single shot; the handler watched his dog take a bullet. During the weeks it would take the dog to heal, the handler never left its side. The dog had saved his life. Loyal and courageous, dogs are truly man's best friend on the battlefield. While the soldiers may not always feel comfortable calling the bond they form love, the emotions involved are strong and complicated. In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities-from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions. The history of dogs in the US military is long and rich, from the spirit-lifting mascots of the Civil War to the dogs still leading patrols hunting for IEDs today. Frankel not only interviewed handlers who deployed with dogs in wars from Vietnam to Iraq, but top military commanders, K-9 program managers, combat-trained therapists who brought dogs into war zones as part of a preemptive measure to stave off PTSD, and veterinary technicians stationed in Bagram. She makes a passionate case for maintaining a robust war-dog force. In a post-9/11 world rife with terrorist threats, nothing is more effective than a bomb-sniffing dog and his handler. With a compelling cast of humans and animals, this moving book is a must read for all dog lovers-military and otherwise."

My Review:  I was really looking forward to this book, I have always had an interest in working dogs, and recently in dogs who have worked alongside our soldiers. This book, unfortunately, did not live up to my expectations. I was expecting it to be more centered around the dogs themselves and take us through the history, while it did hit on those things it didn't focus as much as I had expected it too. I really had to force myself to sit down with this book each time to read it and then had to really think about how to word this review, I appreciate that Frankel did highlight some issues but it took a lot of work to get to those. The timeline of this book is so all over the place and it isn't smooth in the transition from time frames, settings or subject matters. At times this felt more like a research essay instead of a book, or even research that was rough drafted and needed some filing and ironing out. To end this on a good note, I did really enjoy learning more about the Combat Stress Dogs, it is something that I have been seeing more on the news and was happy to see that the concept was implemented in the military as well as civilian areas. While it seemed that the original theme and question of the book was whether handlers and dogs love each other, think it also poses the question as to whether military trained dogs are a weapon or soldiers themselves.

 

 

My Rating: I really want to give this book a good rating, but it just lacks focus and fluidity. Unfortunately, I give it a rating of One Paw and a Stump Wag.

 

 

 

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

You can find out more about Rebecca Frankel and her work on her Goodreads Page