Every soldier who's ever worked with dogs in combat situations knows how valuable their contribution can be. But rarely do their stories of courage get told.
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On Friday the life of military working dog Kuga was celebrated at the Australian War Memorial, after he was shot five times when he detected an insurgent no one else in his patrol could, potentially saving the lives of his entire unit.
The Belgian Malinois served the Special Air Service Regiment, and was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for Animal Gallantry, regarded as the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious medal in the military.
The award was accepted on his behalf by retired military working dog, Odin, and Victoria Cross awardee Corporal Mark Donaldson.
Kuga suffered wounds to his back, face, ears, and a shot through his chest that broke his upper left leg after taking fire from an enemy insurgent during a Special Operations Task Group Patrol on August 26, 2011. The incident ultimately lead to his death on July 24, 2012.
Kuga detected an insurgent almost immediately upon commencing the patrol, charging through a river toward them despite being shot at.
“Kuga took rounds as part of his job he was trained to do, but certainly didn’t shy away from it, he kept swimming and closing the gap towards him,” said Kuga’s handler, referred to as "Sergeant J", in order to protect his identity.
Kuga bit the attacker on the arm, but the insurgent escaped by shooting Kuga, forcing the dog to release its grip.
“He was sitting, I could see his limbs broken, I initially called him and tried to coach him across, he moved a little bit and sat back down,” Sergeant J said.
“Then with a little bit more encouragement he just hobbled down on three legs, back into the water and then swam down back across the river, back towards me,” he said.
Kuga was evacuated and received medical treatment in Afghanistan, eventually being sent to Australia, where he died from his wounds almost a year later.
“I'm pretty proud of what Ku did that day, ultimately it was up to him what he did. He's the one that chose to go forward, chose to take the bullets for both me and my mates,“ Sergeant J said.
Working animals have been a vital part of the military for years. Dogs in particular have an important role due to their advantages over humans in certain situations.
“We used their sensory, olfactory system, to tap into that to be able to alert us via an early warning signal,” Corporal Donaldson said.
“An example of Kuga, he used his senses that are far greater than ours to alert to the fact that there was an enemy presence in the area, well ahead of what we would’ve been able to see, hear or smell.
“Throughout our history, dogs, cats, camels, horses, pigeons, they’ve all played a vital role, whichever side you’re on in warfare, if you look at the pigeons, they were flying through gunfire, storms, planes, to deliver messages, normal birds would just fly away but those birds chose to do their job."
