Extraordinary dog

No Ordinary Dog is the gripping true story of a Navy SEAL handler and the military working dog who saved his life.

In May 2011, two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden's compound. After the mission, only one name was released – Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is the story of Cairo and his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL team operator whose life would be forever linked with Cairo's.

Starting in 2008, when Will joined the SEAL canine program, he worked side by side with Cairo, relying on each other to survive hundreds of critical operations in the war on terror. But their bond ran deeper than just serving together. Then came the order in 2011: take your dog and return to Virginia immediately.

Weeks of training for a secret mission followed. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation. Cairo was among the first American boots on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of Osama bin Laden.

When Cairo transitioned to a role as a "spare dog", Will returned to his work as a DEVGRU operator until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD. Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from severe migraines, chronic pain, memory loss and depression. Modern medicine offered little relief. It was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more – and then it was up to Will to be there for Cairo when he needed him most.