Will Chesney, a Navy SEAL, entered the SEAL canine program in 2008, and it was there that he met Cairo, a dog that would unexpectedly be his best friend, on and off the battlefield.
Over the years, Chesney and Cairo established an unbreakable friendship. They’re battling militants in 2009 when Chesney received the shock of his life when he saw Cairo getting shot and collapsed to the ground.
He was on the verge of tears, believing that the dog already died. He ran towards the dog and was ready to administer first aid when, fortunately, a medic approached them. It was a close call, nonetheless, and they were still able to save the dog in time.
On May 2, 2011, Chesley and Cairo joined a team of two dozen Navy SEALs for Operation Neptune Spear, a mission to raid Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Because the operation could turn out to be extremely dangerous, they put more effort than usual into their training. Thankfully, their preparations and efforts didn’t go in vain.
They completed their mission and killed Bin Laden. When they returned to the United States, President Barack Obama honored each team member with a silver star, except for Cairo. The dog did not get any silver stars since service canines are no longer eligible for military honors.
Chesney’s life went on. However, after a grenade blast in 2013, he suffered from a brain injury, PTSD, and was unable to participate in any more operations. Chesney looked for modern drugs to help him deal with his awful headaches, chronic pain, and depression, but he only got temporary relief.
Thankfully, one of his closest friends persuaded him to visit a brain health center. While medicine helped, Chesney’s only true sense of security was in Cairo, which he visited as often as he could. Cairo retired after a while, and Chesney was there to legally adopt him.
You can watch the full video here.
Credit: Huckabee