Dog-Eared Reads: No Ordinary Dog reviewed

If you are looking for a brilliant read this summer, check out No Ordinary Dog

Is there anything better than curling up with a good book? Maybe reading about dogs. And what could be better than reading about a real life hero? In this edition of our Dog-Eared Reading segment, we take a look at No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid by Will Chesney and Joe Layden.

If you love true stories, particularly ones centered around Military service, then you will definitely want to pick up this book. While the primary focus is as much on a Belgian Malinois named Cairo, a Military Working Dog, as it is on his handler Will Chesney, this story is so much more than that. This is a look at what it is like to be a member of a SEAL Team at war.

The story begins back in 2008 when Chesney began working with the SEAL canine program and moves forward from there. We are talking about initial meetings between Cairo and Chesney and of course the biggest moment of the story, the Bin Laden Raid.

No Ordinary Dog delivers an epic story of a heroic dog and his handler

If ever there was a truer title, No Ordinary Dog would have to be it. Cairo truly was “no ordinary dog.” Working hundreds of operations and dealing with any number of dangerous situations, these two were a perfect pair.

In fact, the Bin Laden raid wasn’t even the end of the story and one could even say it was just the beginning. Cairo was clearly so much more than just a Military Dog and a hero, he was a companion and a support in the hardest of times.

As much as this is a story of being part of a SEAL Team, this is also about what comes next. And that is what makes this story so brilliant. It is all-encompassing.

I admit that this is not easy or light reading. In fact, it took me a solid month to read this entire story. There was no way I was going to rush through this book and I really wanted to give the story the attention and respect it deserved.

For me, non-fiction books are something I read a chapter at a time, rather than devouring them in one sitting. And that makes a difference. Whether you binge read this book over a weekend or spread it out the way I did, you really should read No Ordinary Dog, especially if you are looking to learn more about the life of a Military Working Dog.

Are you a fan of non-fiction books? Will you be reading No Ordinary Dog? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.