Dogs of War: Cooper

From Army Times:

The first military working dog team killed in action together since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were laid to rest together July 18, 2007.

Cpl. Kory D. Wiens, 20, of the 94th Mine Dog
Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and his partner, Cooper, a Labrador Retriever, were killed July 6 by an IED while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq.

The cremated remains of Kory and Cooper were buried together in Wiens’ hometown of Dallas, OR, at the request of his family.

Hans Freimarck, the military working dog coordinator for the Army Dog Program said he didn’t know the last time a canine team was killed together, but Wiens and Cooper were the first for operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Requietum En Pacem, Soldiers