Remembering SAS hero dog Kuga
Belgian Mallinois Kuga saved lives in Afghanistan but paid the ultimate price, ultimately succumbing to war wounds on 24 July 2012. Twelve years on, Leading Seaman Nadav Harel reports how a special MWD was not only man’s best friend, but a true member of his SAS team. Story extracted from ARMY Newspaper dated 18 July 2024.
FILE PHOTO: Military working dog ‘Kuga’ in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan, Afghanistan. SOTG photo.
Flying low over central Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province, Black Hawks carried an SASR patrol to locate a highvalue Taliban target in 2011.
Aboard were combat assault dog Kuga and his handler Sgt J.
The Taliban waited quietly below in ambush.
When the Aussies touched down, Kuga was let off-lead to scout ahead.
Sensing something across the other side of a creek, the Belgian Malinois was dog-paddling through the water when the first burst of automatic fire splashed around him.
Dripping wet, Kuga charged at the shooter, locking his bite on the insurgent’s arm.
Another burst of gunfire from the enemy and Kuga was hit.
He released his bite and the Taliban fighter retreated, but not before targeting the dog again, ultimately hitting him five times: twice in the ear, once in the toe, once in the cheek, which exited through his neck, and once in the chest, which exited the shoulder and broke his upper-left leg.
There was also shrapnel in his lower spine.
He was fearless in the face of the enemy, alerting his patrol to the insurgent’s ambush.
Kuga now lay injured on the river bank.
When Sgt J called his name, Kuga’s ears pricked up and he crawled back into the water towards him.
The rest of the patrol laid down fire while Sgt J started first aid and called for a CASEVAC.
Kuga was evacuated and underwent many procedures before returning to SASR kennels in Perth.
Kuga didn’t make it, however, succumbing to his wounds less than a year after that contact in Uruzgan.
Born on April 23, 2007, Kuga began training with the SASR in 2008 at eight months old.
He was assigned to his handler Sgt J in April 2009, and in 2010 they deployed to Afghanistan.
Kuga was a war fighter, but still a dog who loved to chew empty water bottles and terrorise any soldier who dared try to steal his current favourite.
He was a creature of comfort and would never accept no when it came to bed time, and he knew there was always a warm place in a sleeping bag regardless of the occupant.
“I am pretty proud of what he did; that ultimately it was up to him, he’s the one that chose to go forward,” Sgt J said.
“He’s the one who took the bullets for me and my mates; ultimately that enabled me to come home to my family.
“It highlights the sacrifice these dogs make in today’s battlefield, and not just Kuga, but all other dogs who’ve served with us and other coalition forces.”
Kuga was nominated for the Dickin Medal for preventing his patrol from entering into an enemy ambush.
Cpl Mark Donaldson, VC, who is a former SASR military working dog handler, accepted the Dickin Medal on behalf of Kuga and SASR in 2018.
“Kuga’s actions that day in Afghanistan were heroic,” Cpl Donaldson said.
“There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that he saved lives and he showed so much loyalty and courage.
“He wouldn’t give up on his mates and doing his job.
“Kuga and the other military working dogs we all served with in Afghanistan saved countless lives, whether they were finding IEDs or tipping us off to an enemy presence before we’d seen them.
“Kuga’s Dickin Medal is for all the military working dogs who worked alongside us in Afghanistan and every day since.”
After Kuga died, the squadron gathered for a service where his ashes were placed in the memorial and a plaque was unveiled.
He is remembered as a hero and he will never be forgotten.
He exemplifies what it means to protect your mates.
According to former SASR member Sgt Andrew White, a dog handler who completed multiple rotations of Afghanistan with his dog Stone, their dogs wouldn’t have it any other way.
“They loved being in the troop – it was their pack,” Sgt White said.
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