SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2015

What Happened After A Bicyclist Shot “Major Mike,” The Retired War Dog

Sarah Kershaw at The Washington Post reports: Sgt. Matthew Bessler’s worst nightmare came true when Mike, his wartime partner-turned service dog, was shot and killed Oct. 10 in Powell, Wyoming, by a bicyclist who said the dog was attacking him. “Major Mike” is seen here on tour in Iraq. Both the dog and his handler, Sgt. Matthew Bessler, acquired PTSD on the job and retired to Wyoming together.

“That dog was the other half of me,” Bessler, 43, said in a long, often tearful, telephone interview on Sunday.

The Army Ranger’s relationship with the dog was first chronicled in the Washington Post in July.

As word of the dog’s death spread in Powell, Bessler’s friends leaped into action, starting with a fundraising campaign to help him pay for a burial with military honors.

Jess Campbell, who owns The Gym in Powell, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for all the costs associated with a war hero’s burial. Campbell, who met Bessler and Mike when Bessler started taking a 5 a.m. weight-training class, set what she thought was a lofty goal: $10,000, expecting a few thousand dollars to come in, she said. As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised over $14,000.

While the donations were pouring in, Campbell also heard from veteran and combat dog advocacy groups that have committed to covering all the costs associated with the burial and funeral and to providing Bessler with a new service dog. A private donor has even volunteered to pay to erect a memorial to “Major Mike” in a local park. [READ MORE HERE]

These are the kinds of Real American Heroes The Blower needs to write more about during the Devolution of Obama’s America, especially since only 24% think the country is heading in the right direction, tying the lowest level in over a year.

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