A Marine’s Afghan AAR (III): Devildogs vs. Afghan dogs

Here CWO2/Gunner Keith Marine gives his fellow Marines a short lesson on Afghan canines:

Shooting Dogs.  There is no dog in Nawa province not accounted for by a local.  They love their dogs and keep them for security purposes and treasured pets. You kill one and you have problems. It would be like shooting a West Virginian’s dog.  If he wasn’t actively supporting the Taliban before hand, he is now. Unfortunately, we had to learn some hard lessons. Guys who have deployed to Iraq, shoot the fuckers like it is going out of style. It’s different here. There are not a thousand stray, rabid dogs running about. Dogs are owned and cared for. Throw a rock at them or stand your ground and they will stop or run away. The dogs here are intimidating, some resembling Lycans, but they are just dogs.

When I was a kid in Kabul we called those huge ones kuchi dogs (that is, belonging to nomads).  We’d run into them on the outskirts of town when hiking and such. They are indeed scary.