WDied 10\/10\/15
\nHandler – Matthew Bessler<\/p>\n
Retired military K9 who served in Iraq shot, killed <\/p>\n
Matthew Bessler should have been hunting in Shell, Wyo., this week with a dog he loved enough to call a family member. But after a fatal encounter over the weekend, the combat-turned-service dog is dead, and in the absence of Mike, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, Bessler is left seeking answers. On Saturday, a man on a bicycle stopped in the road adjacent to Bessler\u2019s property and fatally shot Mike. Bessler was away, hunting in the Bighorn Mountains.Mike and Bessler did two tours in Iraq that left both with post-traumatic stress disorder. Nobody witnessed the Saturday shooting. According to the Powell Tribune, the Park County Sheriff\u2019s Office believes the man’s actions were justified because he felt threatened by Mike, despite the entry wounds being in the dog’s backside. Bessler disputes their findings and hopes, through \u201ccivil means,\u201d to find out what exactly happened to Mike. \u201cI would like to take a civil avenue to go after him \u2014 the gentleman that shot him \u2014 because Mike was a retired military officer.\u201d Bessler said. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s not just a wrongful use of force.\u201d Mike turned 9 in May and should have gone with Bessler on a Hunting with Heroes trip for veterans in Shell this week. Without Mike, Bessler may have a harder time dealing with his combat-related medical issues. \u201cI raised him and trained him as a puppy, and the ability he has to sense some of the issues that I have with seizures, with my PTSD, my TBI (traumatic brain injury) and severe anxiety disorders, how he can calm me down just by him being in my presence,\u201d Bessler said. \u201cHe can help take the focus and help change the focus of what\u2019s going on with me and help me calm down or relax me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WDied 10\/10\/15 Handler – Matthew Bessler Retired military K9 who served in Iraq shot, killed Matthew Bessler should have been hunting in Shell, Wyo., this week with a dog he loved enough to call a family member. But after a fatal encounter over the weekend, the combat-turned-service dog is dead, and in the absence of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-military","tag-wy"],"yoast_head":"\n