A Belgian shepherd who has been on more than 350 explosive sweeps and 46 missions throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia was recently awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
Bass, a 10-year-old dog who served in the Marine Corps alongside his handler Ret. Staff Sgt. Alex Schnell for five years, became the 75th recipient of the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal.
The medal is the highest award any animal can receive while serving in military conflict and recognizes "outstanding acts of bravery or devotion to duty."
Bass saved countless lives by sniffing out five Taliban Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) while American and Afghan forces were engaged in an active firefight in 2019.
"Bass's main job as a military working dog — he's kind of a specialized type — is called a multipurpose canine, and his three main capabilities were explosive detection, the apprehension or bite capability, and then being able to track enemy combatants," Schnell said Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
The retired staff sergeant argued the greatest threat coalition forces faced were IEDs in the field. He praised military dogs for being the "best asset" to mitigate the threats posed.
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"Belgian Mals are very smart, very intelligent by nature, but Bass, especially, is one of the most, if not the most, intelligent dogs that I've had the pleasure of working with," he told host Tucker Carlson. "I think that's just due to his resiliency and the ability for him to kind of read the emotions in a certain situation, especially on the battlefield, and be able to perform when the stakes are that high."
"I mean, it's a lot to ask an animal to do that, and the fact that he has done that on so many occasions, it's just — it's pretty special."
Carlson asked what the process was like to adopt service dogs once they are retired.
"Bass retired about two weeks before I was honorably discharged, actually, so I got to adopt him directly after I left my time with active duty, and it doesn't always work out that way. It has a lot to do with the timing of the unit and the specific dog. In our situation, we are pretty fortunate to be able to do that," Schnell said.
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He highlighted how military dogs no longer receive medical care or support from the U.S. government once they retire.
Schnell added that he is involved with a nonprofit organization called the U.S. War Dogs Association, which helps provide medical care and financial support.
"Bass has really enjoyed his retirement, but last October was diagnosed with a pretty aggressive form of blood cancer called hemangiosarcoma, and he had to have emergency surgery," Schnell said.
"He's done some chemotherapy. I'm happy to say that he's in remission, which is fantastic, but those medical bills are expensive and U.S. War Dogs footed the whole bill for his treatment and provides medical care for over 1,200 dogs every single month, which gives them, you know, the quality of life that these guys deserve after doing so much for us without even really having a say in it."
The War Dogs Association was founded in 2000 by five Vietnam veterans and has supported more than 1,000 retired military dogs.
