MWD still has heart; Max keeps biting despite life threatening murmur

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Anthony Jennings
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The sand burns my paws. The hot air dries out my snout. The heat singes my fur. Though the environment is extreme, I will not fail my master. I must complete my mission and find what I've been trained to search for. 

If humans could understand dog language that would probably be what Max was thinking before he found three weapons caches filled with mixed explosives during his six-month deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. Max is a five year old recently retired military working dog for the 96th Security Forces Squadron. 

Max will be honored at the MWD Memorial/Retirement ceremony Aug. 1 at the Air Armament Museum, for his valiant and tragically short military career. Max is retiring due to a heart murmur, discovered in March, that is believed to have been contracted during his first and final deployment. Veterinarians originally gave him one month to live, yet four months later, Max is still kicking, or rather, biting. 

"Despite Max's condition, he just keeps going," said Max's handler, Staff Sgt. Kathleen Lee, 96th SFS MWD handler. "He might get a little tired, but he is just as determined to please his master now as ever." Sergeant Lee adopted Max and now keeps him at her home. 

While the average career for a working dog is approximately eight to 12 years, the heart condition limited Max to one year of active-duty service. 

"It's just a shame that such a devoted and skilled dog that is still so young, has to retire," said Tech. Sgt. Michele Stringert, 96th SFS. "He could have done so much more and possibly saved more lives." 

Max and his handler share a bond that only handlers can understand. In Guardians of the Night, a creed which all dog handlers must know and live by, the dog is not just a piece of equipment or a weapon, it is their comrade. It is a friend who will protect its master with its dying breath and whose only wish is to please and remain in its master's favor. 

"It's good to know that my partner won't quit or want to go home before the mission is accomplished," said Sergeant Lee. "He doesn't want to go home because his home is with me." 

During his active-duty career, Max was kept to a strict standard of excellence--capable of detecting explosives with 95 percent accuracy and drugs with 90 percent accuracy. Working dogs are trained to neutralize a potential threat by strategically attacking body parts aimed at immobilizing or forcing surrender. At 86 pounds, Max has the capability to bring down a grown man in one lethal bite. However, a working dog can read a given situation accordingly and if it seems the suspect realizes he's in way over his head and yields, the handler can shout "OUT!" and the dog will discontinue the attack. 

Working dogs deploy once every six months and can be attached to Marine Corps or Army units. Their duties range from patrolling the gates as a psychological deterrent to those coming on base. They can be team lead during raids searching for suspected insurgents, or they may sniff out safe houses to look for weapons caches, similar to the three Max found. 

Although Max's ailment may prevent him from doing the job he's been trained for, this doesn't mean he can't apply those skills in his retirement. 

"He tries to eat Tido, my cat," said Sergeant Lee. "He can sit and wait for hours staring at Tido, after chasing him up the window sill. He is great with Bruiser, my English bulldog, but for some reason he wants to focus all of his training on my cat," the sergeant said. 

"We pretty much understand that Max is just as good at being retired as he was being active duty," said Sergeant Stringert. 

One thing is for sure, working dogs, though trained to attack, sniff out drugs or find explosives with pin point accuracy, they are also devoted and loyal partners in the defense of our nation and a key component for mission effectiveness.