Ranger K9 Handler Julian McDonald | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 125

Mike Drop

Staff Sgt. Julian McDonald served nine and a half years in the army, predominantly as a Ranger and a Ranger K9 Handler, with eight deployments between Iraq and Afghanistan, and a Purple Heart to match. He's also Layka's handler, who, if you haven't heard, is one of the most famous dogs to come out of the military in recent memory.
With Julian in tow, MPC Layka's graced the cover of National Geographic, been the subject of an HBO Documentary, and even helped Channing Tatum make a little movie called 'DOG'. But when you ask Julian just what makes Layka so special, it's not just the dog, but Benno - the one who showed Julian the way - that really counts.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:45 - Seeds of Terror
10:00 - Childhood Memories
12:00 - First the Gym, Then the Sauna
16:00 - Born at Cannon Air Force Base
19:00 - Grandpa Beat Us on the Bus
24:00 - So Then I Got Expelled
31:15 - I'd Like to be a Ranger
39:00 - Baptized by Gunfire
43:30 - SEAL Team 6 & A Family Reunion
49:30 - Civilian Contractors On Target
56:30 - An Offset Infil
1:02:45 - Two Deployments in Tikrīt
01:11:00 - A Dog Handler in 2009
01:19:30 - My First Dog Benno
01:30:00 - Two Bravo
01:43:00 - Fentanyl Lollipops
01:54:30 - Surviving an IED, Barely
02:33:00 - Practically Full-Time Training
02:20:00 - A Tunnel Bite Story
02:25:00 - What Made Benno Exceptional
02:44:00 - The Dog Takes Drugs
02:48:00 - This Is It
02:58:00 - Benno's Last Deployment
03:17:30 - And Then I Had Layka
03:24:00 - Layka Gets Shot
03:36:00 - A Seven-Hour Amputation
03:44:00 - Adoption Papers
03:52:00 - Becoming a Symbol
03:57:00 - Two Years Sober
04:01:00 - Withdrawals on Deployment
04:05:00 - Finding Myself
04:11:00 - Mike on Rico
04:18:00 - Giving Gifts
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Support Julian McDonald:
Website - MPC Layka Statue Fund - https://www.scottswish.org/mpc-layka-statue-fund
IG - https://www.instagram.com/trent_k9
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Sponsors:
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