Mike the Belgian Malinois, a Bronze Star Medalist that survived two tours in Iraq., was shot and killed in his stateside home in Wyoming, according to FOX News. His handler, Matthew Bessler, is requesting that Mike receive the military burial he deserves.
Bessler, a 20-year Army vet, is a retired Army Ranger who served six tours in Iraq with the 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, Colo., and had raised Mike as a pup.
Mike and Bessler detected explosives and hunted insurgents during a 16-month period in which they earned the military's highest honor, two Bronze Stars, until one day, Mike just quit sniffing explosives.
A trip to the military vet gave Mike the Army's first and only case of PTSD in a service dog, and that was his last tour of duty. He came home in 2010 with Bessler, also suffering from PTSD.
"I raised him and trained him as a puppy, and the ability he has to sense some of the issues that I have with seizures, with my PTSD, my TBI (traumatic brain injury) and severe anxiety disorders," Bessler said, according to The New York Post. "He can ... help me calm down or relax me."
A bicyclist was riding in Bessler's neighborhood Sunday when he says Mike attacked him. He fended the dog off with his bike while retrieving a gun from his pack. When Mike didn't retreat, he shot and killed the dog.
Bessler was out of town when Mike was shot and is currently disputing the story, USA Today reported. Bessler said that while Mike was fiercely loyal, he had no behavior issues. He also isn't sure how Mike escaped from his yard.
His neighbor heard the gunshots but not any barking. He later found Mike limping with gunshot wounds to his hind end.
Family friends have set up a donation site to help pay for Mikes military burial.
"If the guy was actually fending the dogs off with a bicycle, (Mike) would have really been barking, and there was no barking," the Army veteran said. "There was no barking. It was just a gunshot."
"I mean, it's way too soon," Bessler said. "I mean, it's every time I see him everywhere that I go. Because he was, he was with me almost everywhere I went and he was always playing and he was always ... he always wanted to play and everyone loved him. Everybody could pet him."
"Nobody had problems with him unless they had a ball," he added, jokingly.
