{"id":3458,"date":"2013-07-12T08:04:21","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T15:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=3458"},"modified":"2013-07-11T09:39:15","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T16:39:15","slug":"book-review-trident-k9-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/book-review-trident-k9-warriors\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Trident K9 Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Trident<\/a><\/p>\n

When we finally brought Destroy home from the hospital, we sat him in his tiny baby bouncer and gently introduced him to the family dogs. We did the same when Search came home three days later.<\/p>\n

Each time, our yellow lab Cooper eyed them suspiciously. \u201cCan they throw a ball? No? Worthless puppies!\u201d<\/p>\n

See, Cooper was once trained as a working dog. He\u2019s considered a \u201ccareer changer.\u201d Mostly because epilepsy is an automatic fail-out. But nevertheless, he has the drive and obsession to focus, inspect his surroundings, and most importantly FETCH THE BALL!<\/p>\n

Today I take great pleasure watching my little fighters wrestle and play with their canine companions. Because I\u2019m a preemie boy-mom. And I’m pretty sure my twin boys, Search and Destroy, have been tandem training for Special Forces since their initial escape from the womb.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dog<\/a>

Not a working dog. But completely OCD about his ball – even at age 10.<\/p><\/div>\n

So when I heard about former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland\u2019s book, Trident K9 Warriors: My Tale from the Training Ground to the Battlefield with Elite Navy SEAL Canines<\/a>, I immediately downloaded a copy and read it in a day.<\/p>\n

Trident K9 Warriors details the working dogs serving our country. It discusses their selection, training and deployment \u2013 in some of the harshest conditions imaginable \u2013 as they search and destroy obstacles in the heart of heated battle zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom detecting explosives to eliminating the bad guys, these powerful dogs are also some of the smartest and most highly skilled working animals on the planet.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Each chapter tells the tale of experiences with different dogs. Each story underlines a point in the progression of military working dogs. The elite specimens who make it through the rigorous breeding, selection and training program will ultimately patrol alongside their human handlers \u2013 making warzones a bit more bearable. The dogs sniff out IEDs. They are tenacious beasts who will bite down on the bad guy (a seriously sucks to be you moment).<\/p>\n

And, on base barracks, they offer a small respite of home. Despite the ferocity and power contained in such impressive furry weapons, dogs still have their individual goofy personalities. Beings who will readily put their lives in peril on extreme missions, as they undertake to save countless lives, asking for little in the way of reward. Such as a lengthy game of fetch.<\/p>\n

You can also see oodles of photos at the end of the book. I do wish they included the photos throughout. Since I read an electronic version of the missive, I didn\u2019t even realize there were pictures until a friend told me to go looking for them. (Hint, hint publisher \u2013 way too cute to be missed. I don\u2019t care how bad ass you are \u2013 dogs in goggles and snow shoes are adorable.)<\/p>\n

The dogs described in Ritland\u2019s book are on the front lines everyday. They are heroes, as are their handlers. I love dogs; they make me happy.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be in the military to get sucked in by these stories. Are you a dog person? Are you interested in the behind-the-scenes of how things work? Does history pique your curiosity? Because this book is living history. The evolution of K9s, their impact in battle and their effect on the hearts and minds of our soldiers.<\/p>\n

So read this book. Come to admire the awesome tenacity of the extremely elite working dogs. And then check out the Warrior Dog Foundation<\/a> to help recognize their efforts and keep the program going.<\/p>\n

Since several marines declared Search and Destroy are future paratroopers<\/a>, perhaps one day they\u2019ll be deploying with canine compatriots strapped alongside them.<\/p>\n

And I would be proud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we finally brought Destroy home from the hospital, we sat him in his tiny baby bouncer and gently introduced him to the family dogs. We did the same when Search came home three days later. Each time, our yellow … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[9],"tags":[868,97,1349,1043,1348],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-TM","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3977,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/must-love-dogs\/","url_meta":{"origin":3458,"position":0},"title":"Must Love Dogs","date":"August 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dogs make me happy. The unconditional love. The uncontained excitement so intense they can\u2019t help but piddle on the kitchen rug because you\u2019ve been gone for forever (or 20 minutes). The cuddles. The pathetic puppy dog eyes because oh my god they\u2019re starving and will absolutely die if you don\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pets"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Cooper-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1812,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/love-at-first-bark-a-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":3458,"position":1},"title":"Love at First Bark: A Review","date":"October 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. (And yes, I was allowed to dislike the book. But I didn\u2019t.) One of the nice things about a vacation is the opportunity to read again. 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(This may or may not have had anything to do with my emotional meltdown during my first in-patient stint, in which I demanded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/02\/cooper_05-16-08.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4201,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/three-years-gone-by\/","url_meta":{"origin":3458,"position":3},"title":"Three Years Gone By","date":"January 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent this morning\u2019s commute trying to explain to my sons the concept of death. Search: Mommy, why did Cooper have to die? Me: He was very old and sick, sweetie. He didn\u2019t want to be in pain anymore. Search: I miss him. Me: Me too, buddy. Me too. Search:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angels"","img":{"alt_text":"1.12","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/14820040811_5921788418_o-1024x769.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2210,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-great-cooper-caper\/","url_meta":{"origin":3458,"position":4},"title":"The Great Cooper Caper","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We have dogs. Two of them. A yellow one and a black one. Remember the 90s cartoon \u201cPinky and the Brain\u201d? Genetically engineered mice \u2013 one brilliant and sly, scheming for world domination. The other desperate to be loved, but may have missed a few days when intelligence was being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Let-the-Dogs-out-300x246.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3312,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-attention-span-of-a-toddler\/","url_meta":{"origin":3458,"position":5},"title":"The Attention Span of a Toddler","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"You may have noticed that most small ones have the attention span of a newt. And although I do not deem to know precisely the intentions of the diapered hamster in my son's brain, toddling furiously upon his wheel, I\u2019m pretty confident in asserting the thoughts are all over the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Destroy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Squirrel-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}