Texas Navy SEAL nabs 2 in dog killing
Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell won the Navy Cross for heroism as the only survivor of a 2005 attack in Afghanistan that killed his men.
So when his therapy dog was shot on his Walker County, Texas, ranch, he helped track down the suspects, embarking on a pursuit that crossed three counties to aid law enforcement officers.
"I didn't go under 110 miles an hour the whole time. ... Normally, I can't pull out of my front gate and drive into town without getting pulled over," Luttrell said Wednesday on Glenn Beck's radio show, heard locally on 104.7 FM.
Based on Luttrell's communication with dispatchers, police set up a roadblock near Lake Livingston, Polk County, where the car carrying the suspects was finally stopped.
"I pulled in front of them, came out of the truck and then the cops took it from there," Luttrell said. "The police asked if I was a peace officer. I said, 'No sir, I'm a Navy SEAL.'"
Two men were arrested and charged in connection with the shooting, authorities said.
Luttrell heard a gunshot about 1:30 a.m. April 2. Going to the tree line of his property, he saw the headlights and young men standing beside the vehicle.
"I could see my dog lying in the ditch," Luttrell told Beck.
Luttrell, 34, said the yellow lab, Dasy, was bleeding from a gunshot above its shoulder, and he knew instantly it was dead. When the vehicle left, he followed it.
His response did not surprise Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a friend of Luttrell's.
"All Navy SEALs have an extraordinary amount of self-discipline that we mere mortals do not present," Perry said in a telephone interview with the Tribune-Review.
Dasy was trained as a companion and rehab partner for returning veterans. Luttrell named Dasy for members of his fallen squad.
Luttrell and his three teammates were assigned to Operation Red Wing to gather intelligence on Taliban movement in the Hindu-Kush mountain region. On June 28, 2005, more than 200 Taliban fighters attacked. Luttrell was the only survivor.
In the rescue mission that followed, 16 Special Forces personnel, including eight SEALs, died when their helicopter was shot down by Taliban fighters. It was the largest single-day loss of life in the history of the SEALs, according to the Navy.
Perry said that Luttrell came to stay with him and his wife, Anita, the next day to decompress.
"He is doing fine, he has lost his best friend, but he processed that it was just some totally irresponsible punks that have no understanding of principles or values," Perry said.
Veterans and their therapy dogs develop a special relationship, said William Krol, communications director for America's VetDogs, a nonprofit that provides service and guide dogs for active military personal.
"There is a very strong bond there. Many veterans have told me that their therapy dogs have provided them a reason to get up in the morning," Krol said.
Beck told the Trib that he has received an overwhelming response in support of Luttrell.
"The restraint he's shown throughout this ordeal is an inspiration to all of us who realize that the only people who resort to violence are those too dumb to understand that the weapons of democracy are far more effective," Beck said.
