On Friday, the IDF reported an incident in which Israeli troops killed six Hezbollah terrorists in Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon. The one who identified the terrorists, saved the soldiers and paid with her life was Bernie, a dog from the IDF’s Oketz canine unit.
“Bernie was with me from training. I was her first handler, and she was my first dog,” said Staff Sgt. Y., an assault platoon fighter who was Bernie’s handler. “I looked after her from Day One. Bernie was a very good dog in every possible way. We went through everything together.”
Sgt. First Class (res.) O., a team commander in Oketz, recalled the difficult incident in which Bernie was killed.
“When we approached the site, we saw the door was blocked in a somewhat suspicious way, and I decided to send in an explosives-detection dog,” he said. “After that, we blew open the door with an explosive charge and again sent in an explosives-detection dog to search for bombs on the first and second floors. We saw food arranged in a certain way and other suspicious signs. We sent up a reconnaissance drone, and only then did I decide to send Bernie.
“We gave her a set amount of time to search, and at the end of it she began climbing the staircase to the roof, where she encountered the terrorists. She managed to bite one of them before she was hit by a burst of gunfire and killed. Because of the shooting we heard, we knew there were terrorists there.
“In retrospect, we realized they had been waiting there with weapons and grenades ready. If Bernie had not identified them, the soldiers would have gone in and the results would have been tragic. Bernie unequivocally saved lives, both of the soldiers from the 890th Battalion who fought alongside us during the maneuver and in this incident.”
“It was a situation with a lot of adrenaline,” Staff Sgt. Y. said. “You have to respond while protecting the force. Only afterward did it sink in that the one who had been hit was Bernie, not the troops. Slowly, I am processing what happened there and the fact that Bernie is no longer with us. It hurts very much. She was a dog I went through experiences with, ups and downs. No one went through with me what she went through. I remember the faces of the terrorists who shot her. I have lots of videos and pictures of her getting excited to see me, and that is something that will stay with me forever. She was an inseparable part of me.”
Staff Sgt. Y. said he would like to see Bernie just one more time to tell her how much she meant to him.
“If I could, I would tell her that I love her, that I am glad she went through all of this with me, that I was lucky to have her, that I will never forget her and will always tell people about her,” he said. “I want her to be remembered as a hero, as a full-fledged fighter who saved the lives of many soldiers, including my own. She did something not many get to do.”
Despite the loss, Staff Sgt. Y. said he is determined to press on. “We came here to fight and to contribute,” he said. “What is happening in the country is historic in every respect. I was privileged to enlist precisely during wartime. I am looking ahead, with all the memories, and with that we will win.”