Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog

I love dogs and this is a good read. Readers will be proud to have this team and others in our military.

Very happy with purchase highly recommend this seller 😊

A super look at How a dog and man work together as a team during the worst of times. I did not care for the ending, wiithout giving any away, enough said.

This book interested me after seeing a review in our local Sunday paper. The book is well written and has enough flashback to his pre-marine days to give you a great feel of who Dowling is, but not so much we lose the fact he is at war and could die any moment. The bond that developes in war bewteen Rex and his handler is fantastic. The game Rex makes out of work and the tension release his dog antics produce is therapy for battle hardened Devil Dogs themselves.The area that Dowling fails to cover is the time after the war with Rex. How long did he and Rex spend together and though he briefly states that Rex is too old for war today and he is on duty here, what happens to Rex when he is retired? Where does he fit in Dowling's life? Does he ever see Rex? What happened when they were seperated?The other item is this- PARENTS ATTENTION PLEASE. This is not a kids book. The cover and the dog look warm and fuzzy, but the language they use- real world war words are strong and graphic. Beware as a mom and dad what they are reading! I did edit out the worlds and may now let my 12 year old son read it.

I finished "Sergeant Rex" by Mike Dowling tonight and found it to be one of the most intriguing and heartwarming books I have ever read so far. One that was emotionally gripping and made me grateful to our armed forces who have protected and served our country.The story of the author and his military working dog, Rex as they deploy to the Iraq War back in 2004 to operate as the first K9 team to go to war since the Vietnam War. Together, as their bond strengthens, they go on missions to sniff out and obliterate weapons of mass destruction the Iraqi insurgents have stashed away, all the while protecting not only American lives in Iraq, but also Iraqi civilian lives. There are plenty of suspenseful moments throughout the book, but also of sheet joy and victory that will have you glued to the pages. I finished this book in record time. In under a month. Usually it takes me a while to finish a book, depending on how long it is or how dedicated I am to the material within. But this book had me spellbound from start to end. You know a book is good when you bother to read the acknowledgements at the end. The mood of the book is a somber and heroic read. There is no over-mushiness and the author throws in enough of his own backstory to fill you in on how he and Rex met, but doesn't go overboard with his narrative. He makes this all about him and his MWD (military working dog) and the casualties and atrocities of war, as well as the good that he and his dog were doing in Iraq, and that regardless of what's going on around them, there is a silver lining there somewhere.Please add this book to your literary collection, especially if you're an animal lover or have served our armed forces. You will love the story of the bond that can only be had between a man and his dog.

So I'm a middle-aged woman whose typical reading is Jane Austen, T. R. Pearson and John McPhee - never been in the military, and don't read many military-related books (the only other one I can recall reading is "Black Hawk Down," which I also loved). As I type this, my German shepherd (definitely a non-working dog) is lying at my feet. I absolutely bought the book because of the great cover photo of Sergeant Rex, after ascertaining that Rex was still alive at the end of the book.I thought the book was very well-written - but I didn't have huge expectations going in, since I knew nothing about the authors. I didn't mind the switches from personal to military, from past to present - but maybe that's because I've read a fair amount of fiction that does that kind of jumping around. I agree with another reviewer that it would have been great to learn more about Rex's life in the military post-Mike, especially the incident in which Rex and his handler were injured, but I suppose that wasn't Mr. Dowling's story to tell.If you love German shepherds, if you marvel at the things they can do, if you want a glimpse into a career you can't even imagine, then you'll probably enjoy this book. If you're looking for perfect prose, hope for John McPhee to write a book about military working dogs - that would be something! Now, I've got to go rub a puppy tummy.

We humans have been at war since the Beginning of Time.I believe if we had soldiers like Mike and Rex that perhaps there could have been less wars.Rex was a one of a kind soldier first and canine 2nd.Thanks be to Our Lord for watching over soldiers... including K-9 warriors.The two soldiers made a huge difference for the military in giant leaps of what it takes to find the IED'S and bombs, rifles and detonation devices.Well written Mike and Rex.These two warriors stayed humble and with the support of their family and friends kept the focus of why they were there in the fight.I loved this book.Rex retired with Meghan Levy... I've seen her movie... didn't realize her warrior dog was Sexy Rexy!#PickThisBook#ReadThisBook#OnlyRealBonesForK-9's#PuppyAlert#SeekSeekSeek

When I find such books, am always left with this amzing sense of wonder. How could there be such animals,and then I imagine that these are just ones we know about. There is nothing more wonderful than the love & loyalty of a dog. Put one on a battle field with his person, and these stories become epic.I wish they could make movies out of everyone of them !!!!!!!

I really liked this book as it showed the danger faced by the military - both human and animal. Showed off the relationship between the partners.It's a tough career and I can't comprehend a job where you can lose your colleagues at any time.

Check out the heart clearly visible in Rex's face in the final photo of the book. Dogs bring us so much....Rex and every other dog are proof of that. Thanks for a great story Mike...brought tears.

I read this book shortly after reading the book by Will Barrow, "Buster: the dog who saved a thousand lives" and it was all the more interesting for that. "Buster" was a British search springer spaniel serving in Afghanistan, "Sgt Rex" was a German Shepherd serving in Iraq. Both accounts gave an insight into the horrors of war and the great courage required by both dogs and their handlers when searching for IED's and explosives. It was interesting to discover how the very presence of serving dogs gave a boost to the morale of the troops they were serving alongside. The training methods employed by the Brits and the Yanks were very similar, although the Yank dogs were dual role, being Search and Patrol dogs, with the Brits preferring to concentrate on the Search role. Consequently the breeds of dogs employed were different. By reading both books you could see the subtle differences in the attitudes of the American military compared to their British counterparts. Of the two, I found "Sergeant Rex" the more exciting read, probably due to the greater number of "Finds" described and the number of Fire fights the author was involved in. Having started the book, I found it very difficult to put it down and consequently read it in record time. As descriptions of the amazing bond between man and his dog, both books were brilliant and I would have no hesitation recommending either book.

Really enjoyed this book. The war they fought and the bond between them was heartwarming.A very hard book to put down

Really enjoyed this book, written very well, I have dogs of my own and always intrigued with working dogs especially in the military could not put the book down really good book.