Ranger K9 Handler Julian McDonald | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 125

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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