About the book:
Barrow’s first deployment
with Buster was to Afghanistan. While putting Buster through preliminary
training sessions, Barrow quickly saw that Buster was, indeed, an expert.
He was methodical and super-steady, which meant he didn’t expend too much
energy as he worked. This would be vital in the extreme heat of the
desert. But, even more than that, Barrow found Buster to be flawless in
all the trials he set up for him. Buster located every test “find, going
straight to the hidden arms and explosives. In short, Barrow found him
amazing and put his complete trust and confidence in the spaniel.
During their deployments
together, Buster would save Barrow and his comrades many times. He
would be by their side during Taliban ambushes, dangerous night searches, and
hunts for roadside bombs. On one particularly harrowing patrol, Buster
tracked down several suicide vests, and the would-be bombers were
arrested. But, not only did Buster protect Barrow and his fellow soldiers
in life-and-death situations, he also proved to be a valuable asset in many
other ways as well. Besides being able to detect explosives, he could
detect when Barrow and other soldiers needed cheering up. He would often
sense a soldier’s emotions, sit down by him and give him comfort. Also,
when Barrow and his team would be on patrol, Buster acted as a diplomat,
entertaining the locals and the children he would meet.
From the start of their
working relationship, Barrow and Buster worked as a team protecting the lives
of their fellow comrades on the warfront with heroic feats, like sniffing out
explosive vests that led to the arrest of two suicide bombers. Not only was
Buster a professional on the field, he also knew how to follow emotions, from
comforting a grieving solider to providing relief in times of stress. A best
friend in dog's clothing, a RAF dog with his mossy feet firmly on the ground,
Buster is truly a dog in a million.
Buster, uniquely, has
served five tours of duty in three theatres of war (Bosnia, Iraq, and
Afghanistan)—more than any other military dog. He also won the
prestigious Crufts Friends for Life Award in 2012, and has gone on to become
the official lifetime mascot of the RAF Police, the only dog in history to have
been honored in that manner.
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About the authors:
RAF Police Flight Sergeant
MICHAEL "WILL" BARROW joined the RAF at 18. He then specialized as a Drugs
Detection Dog Handler and an Arms and Explosives Search Dog Handler, and has
served in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
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ISABEL GEORGE is an
international bestselling author who writes with a passion and respect for
animals in war. Her father's enchanting stories of mascots adopted by Royal
Navy warships sparked an interest that has grown over the past 20 years into
numerous features for national newspapers and periodicals in the UK, as well as
books available all over the world.
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Thomas Dunne Books is giving 1 lucky winner a print copy
of
Buster:
The Military Dog Who Saved A Thousand Lives
