WHY KUNO IS A HERO
In April 2019, K9 dog Kuno and his handler were deployed in support of the Special Boat Service (SBS) on a night raid against al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
The assault stalled when the team was pinned down at a key point by heavy machine gun fire from an entrenched insurgent. The success of the operation was on the line, and there was no safe way forward without likely casualties.
At that point the K9 handler released the 3-year-old Malinois, who charged straight through the hail of bullets at the enemy position, dragged the insurgent to the ground and stopped the barrage. The Belgian Shepherd was hit in both hind legs during the attack, which did not stop him from holding the insurgent down until the British special forces arrived.
While the handler and the team medics worked on Kuno, the rest of the team pushed on with the mission. With the breach point now secure, the British and their Afghan allies cleared the rest of the compound without further casualties.
Kuno, meanwhile, was flown out by helicopter with serious injuries, among them a bullet that narrowly missed a main artery. He needed several life-saving operations in camp before he could be flown to Britain for further treatment.
To stop a life-threatening infection from spreading, the vets had to amputate part of his hind paws. After several operations he was fitted with custom-made prosthetic legs that let him move around reasonably freely. For what he did on that mission in Afghanistan, Kuno was awarded the Dickin Medal, Britain’s highest decoration for animals that have distinguished themselves in war.
Kuno on IG: @kuno_themwd
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