A Brotherhood Tested on the Battlefield on the Season Finale of Sportsman Channel’s “Saving Private K-9”
OutdoorHub 06.24.14
“It was just me and my dog. Me and my dog, we had to trust each other and work and prove our worth to these infantry units,” said Marine Sergeant Mike Vierig, featured in this week’s episode of Saving Private K-9. Vierig and his canine partner Duc work together to demonstrate just how important their ability to detect explosives can be in an unforgiving warzone.
Tune in to the season finale of Saving Private K-9 airing exclusively on Sportsman Channel, Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Vierig and K-9 Duc, one of the first dogs attached to an infantry unit since Vietnam, were dropped into the Iraq desert in the middle of the night. They were assigned to search 60 buildings for explosives. Duc detected many explosives and an array of weaponry in the area and made the team vitally aware of what they were really searching – a terrorist camp. With the threat of enemy fire and roadside bombs, it took them nearly a week to complete the task.
When Vierig and Duc volunteered for a life-threatening mission, he never imagined the outcome. The partners experienced a 14-hour gunfight with the enemy later coined the “Battle of Husaybah.” Duc bravely walked head-on into the battlefield with his partner and brother, without a doubt proving his significance to the infantry unit.
“The military, and the government at that time looked at these dogs as equipment, but the morale was a whole lot better with these dogs around,” admitted Vierig. “People can identify with the dog. Even though Duc may be a 90 lb. man-eating Malinois, it reminds them of their little yellow lab back home.”
The finale of Saving Private K-9 airs exclusively on Sportsman Channel – Thursday, June 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
To learn more about Saving Private K-9 and catch a sneak peek of this week’s episode, visit http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/shows/saving-private-k-9/. To find Sportsman Channel in your area, visit the Channel Finder: http://sportsmanchannel2.viewerlink.tv/.
