By Damien Lewis, Mike Dowling

"In Iraq we positioned our lives in each one other's arms (and paws) each day. We took care of one another it doesn't matter what. Rex and i've a bond that might final for the remainder of our born days. If ever there has been a marine who lived as much as Semper Fidelis, the motto of the Marine Corps, it's Rex."

Deployed to Iraq's notorious Triangle of demise in 2004, Sergeant Mike Dowling and his army operating puppy Rex have been a part of the 1st Marine Corps army K9 groups despatched to front strains of strive against due to the fact Vietnam. It was once Rex's activity to smell out guns caches, suicide bombers, and IEDs, the devastating explosives that wreaked havoc on troops and civilians alike. It was once Mike's activity to steer Rex into the center of chance time and time back, consistently trusting Rex to carry them either again alive.

Dowling had became twenty-five and Rex 3 simply when they arrived in Iraq. Neither of them had any concept what to anticipate, and no education may possibly absolutely arrange them for this task. An animal lover on account that adolescence, Dowling had fostered and knowledgeable canines for consultant canines for the Blind, and he was resolute to serve within the military's K9 unit after becoming a member of the Marines. On their first patrols in Iraq, Rex suffered a doubtless incurable worry of explosions and gunfire, yet with Mike on the different finish of his leash, Rex won the braveness to accomplish his duty.

Filled with harrowing stories of knife-edge bomb-detection paintings, together with a unprecedented baptism through fireplace, Sergeant Rex is a heart-pounding account of ways an unbreakable human-canine bond helped Mike and Rex to stick inquisitive about their project and store numerous lives. Dowling takes us into the searing 130-degree warmth, the choking airborne dirt and dust, and the ever present possibility of violent assault that looked as if it would permeate Iraq's streets. We adventure Dowling's visceral worry of jogging down an IED-laden alley the place dismemberment or loss of life can include any footstep, in basic terms his depended on accomplice, Rex, by means of his side.

Loyalty is without doubt one of the hallmarks of any solid Marine, and nowhere is that caliber extra obvious than during this superb account of Mike Dowling and Rex's wartime reviews. A relocating tale of ways a guy and a puppy constructed entire belief in one another within the face of poor adversity, Sergeant Rex is an unforgettable story of sacrifice, braveness, and love.