-The article below is from Fox News Chicago. There are some great pictures on this page as well.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/news/dogs-role-in-osama-bin-laden-raid-dpgoha-20110506-fc_13082431
What Role did Dogs Play in Osama bin Laden Raid?
Updated: Friday, 06 May 2011, 9:37 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 06 May 2011, 9:37 AM CDT
Among details not yet released about the raid against Osama bin Laden's compound is what kind of breed the four-legged commando was.
NPR reported that the Navy SEAL team that headed into Abbottabad, Pakistan, included at least one canine fighter. It follows a practice more than a century old as dogs have seen combat as early as the Civil War and World War I.
Military sources told The New York Times that the SEALs' dog was likely either a German shepherd or a Belgian Malinois. The Belgian Malinois, a breed trained to herd sheep, along with German shepherds and Labradors are often used in such roles as they have the speed, agility and sense of smell valuable in war zones, according to The Washington Times .
It has launched a battle of speculation among breeders.
The New York Times stated that American Belgian Malinois Club president Suzanne Belger said she hoped it was her breed "and that it did its job and came home safe." Laura Gilbert, corresponding secretary for the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, said her breed was the best and that she was sure it was a German shepherd.
Whatever the breed, the UK Sun concluded it was likely an explosives-sniffing dog that dropped to the ground strapped to an assault team member. The SEAL unit had used dogs equipped with infrared night-sight cameras and protected by ballistic body armor in the past.
The dogs are taught to attack enemies carrying a weapon and can crawl into tunnels or rooms to search for enemy combatants, their cameras giving the troops an idea of what is ahead of them.
"Dogs are relied upon to provide early warnings for potential hazards, many times, saving the lives of the Special Operations Forces with whom they operate," U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Maj. Wes Ticer told the New York Times.
The Sydney Morning Herald said a military dog likely was also used when former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003.
Dogs, NPR reported, were first officially inducted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed early in 2010 and numbers are expected to grow
-Here is a link to a War Dog a weekly feature by Rebecca Frankel. Awesome pictures!!
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dc9b8186a168692%2C0
