Meet the Dog That Caught Bin Laden & the Navy SEAL Who Loved Him

No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.
No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.

Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Ladens compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog.

NO ORDINARY DOG: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid is Cairo’s story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a member of a SEAL Team whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo’s.

Starting in 2008, when Will was introduced to the SEAL Team canine program, he and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism.

But their bond transcended their service. Then, in 2011, the call came: Pick up your dog and get back to Virginia. Now.

CIA aerial photo of the compound
CIA aerial photo of the compound

What followed were several weeks of training for a secret mission. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation.

Cairo was among the first members of the U.S. military on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden.

Website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation listing bin Laden as deceased on the Most Wanted List on May 3, 2011
Website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation listing bin Laden as deceased on the Most Wanted List on May 3, 2011

As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable spare dog,” Will went back to his job as a SEAL Team operator, until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD.

Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from crippling migraines, chronic pain, memory issues, and depression. Modern medicine provided only modest relief.

Instead, it was up to Cairo to save Will’s life once more—and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.

Found: USS Grayback, Final Resting Place of 80 Entombed Sailors

Will Chesney author of No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid