Rebecca’s War Dog of the Week: There’s just something about Bernie

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

In the day-to-day bulletins of service-dog news, you’ll find a fair amount of rote notices, a fair few of them MWD retirement headlines which are often accompanied by action shots and highlights from the dog’s career no matter how long. These tributes are part of the MWD tradition and a great indication not only of the dogs’ contribution on and off the field but also their high standing in the military community.

Still, the announcement I came across this week for MWD Bernie, an 11-year-old Belgian Malanois with “warm eyes and a wagging tail” stationed at of the Marines Corps Air Station in Arizona, stood out. So infused is each line with love and admiration, it challenges even the most affectionate of sendoffs. It begins:

Her faded grey hair doesn’t seem to do justice to her charming and energetic personality. … There’s more to Bernie than meets the eye. She’s not all teeth and sensitive nose, she is indeed a special girl.”

But the glowing report is not only the fueled by its author, Cpl. Aaron Diament, though he does include an ample note where he describes how the Bernie personally won him over with her “loyalty, kindness” and a “slobbery kiss.” Indeed, the devotion to Bernie appears to be widely felt by her fellow Marines, in part perhaps because she was a one-station dog; MCAS Yuma was her “only permanent duty station.” Bernie deployed twice, both times to Iraq where she became a “veteran of the Battle of Fallujah,” and twice she returned home to the same kennel.

Diament reports that “the majority of [Bernie’s] handlers chose to stay with her for several years at a time” and they’ve all been vying to adopt her. But in the end it was Cpl. Bret Reynolds, her most recent handler, who will bring Bernie home to a life of play, sleeping bedside, and watching episodes of her favorite show, “Animal Planet.” 

The pair has been together for nearly three years and according to Reynolds, Bernie, who was his first explosives dog, is the “only girl I’m allowed to love other than my wife.” To him, their bond between is sacred.

Trusting her with my life is one of the biggest commitments I’ve ever made. Trusting someone who doesn’t speak, who can’t tell you what she feels, trusting her with my life on bomb threat calls has been huge and something I’ll always take with me.”