Mike Ritland

New York Times–Bestselling Author: A young-adult version of Trident K9 Warriors by the military dog trainer, full of "inspiring and hair-raising stories" (Booklist).
Trident K9 Warriors gave readers an inside look at the Navy SEAL teams' elite K9 warriors—who they are, how they're trained, and the extreme missions they undertake to save lives. From detecting explosives to eliminating the bad guys, these powerful dogs are also some of the smartest and most highly skilled working animals on the planet. Mike Ritland's job is to train them.

This special edition for younger readers presents the dramatic tale of how Ritland discovered his passion and grew up to become the trainer of the nation's most elite military working dogs. Ritland was a smaller-than-average kid who was often picked on at school—which led him to spend more time with dogs at a young age. After graduating BUD/S training—the toughest military training in the world—to become a SEAL, he was on combat deployment in Iraq when he saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he'd found his true calling.

Ritland started his own company to train and supply working and protection dogs for the US Government, Department of Defense, and other clients. He also started the Warrior Dog Foundation to help retired Special Operations dogs live long and happy lives after their service. Navy SEAL Dogs is the true story of how Mike Ritland grew from a skinny, bullied child, to a member of our nation's most elite SEAL Teams, to the trainer of the world's best K9 warriors.

"Special force SEALs are elite enough, but SEAL dogs are a breed apart. Fascinating . . . About time these heroes got the attention they deserved for a young audience." —Kirkus Reviews
Includes photos

St. Martin's Griffin

Navy SEAL Dogs: My Tale of Training Canines for Combat

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