A Hero’s Connection: Soldier Embraces Severely Injured Military Dog, Forever Grateful For Life-Saving Acts

As Staff Sergeant Julian McDonald went into an Afghan building with his men, he sent Layka, a trained military dog, to clear it out. Little did he know that this would change the course of his life forever.

Layka was a Belgian Malinois service dog that McDonald was in charge of while he was in Afghanistan.

On that terrible day in 2013, the sergeant sent the dog to check the building. He planned to follow with the rest of his men once everything was safe. When the troops heard gunshots, they thought the building might not be safe.

Before going after the soldiers outside, armed men inside the building shot Layka four times from dead centre. Even though Layka was hurt, she was able to knock out her attacker and save the soldiers' lives.

Following a seven-hour surgery, the vets were able to save the dog's life, but she was left with only one leg. The most important thing was that she was still living.

The dog had to go through physiotherapy before it could walk and move around easily again. However, she was eager to fight again after treatment.

But then she hurt herself again, which put her other front leg at risk.

Rebecca Switzer, who was born and raised in Oklahoma and later met Layka and her nanny, gave her opinion on the matter.

At the time, she said, “It's a serious injury since she only has one leg.” She already had one leg that was giving her trouble, and now the other one might be in danger too.

When the Switzers met Layka for the first time and then brought more gifts when she needed help again, they said it wasn't just her physical limits that were making things hard for her, but also the trauma that her deployment had caused.

A lot of the soldiers whose lives she saved gave money to a fund set up to help Layka's broken paw heal. The good news is that her teacher worked hard to get her adopted.

Family members were worried that Layka's training and past would make her too dangerous to have as a pet, but McDonald was determined to bring her home.

He was able to properly adopt her, and the service dog that had been mean turned into the right pet.

When McDonald got home with her, the dog laid down right away and let the soldier's child, who was only a year old at the time, play on her back. That was a big surprise.

Sgt. McDonald will always be grateful to the dog that saved his life, and he plans to give the dog a peaceful and happy retirement.

I owe this dog every moment I spend with my family from now on. To National Geographic, McDonald said, “I owe her everything.”

Check out the movie below to see how well Layka gets along with her handler's family.

Don't be shy about telling your friends and family about this.