Bomb sniffing dog adopted by contractor he saved

Layton man injured in Afghanistan adopts 'hero' dog
Deseret News
By Emiley Morgan
Published: Saturday, March 15 201

LAYTON — On May 9, 2010, John Logie, his body full of shrapnel, was loaded into a helicopter and flown from Afghanistan to Germany after being injured by an improvised explosive device.

He said his K9 partner, Balto, watched as he was loaded up.

"He's looking at me like, 'Where are you going, Dad?'" Logie recalled.

Saturday, the same dog stared down the same man, as Logie arrived to pick up Balto from the Delta Cargo warehouse at the Salt Lake City International Airport as his new owner.

"This is my hero right here," Logie said as the dog was released from his kennel. "He saved my life multiple times and now it's time for him to go home and sit on the couch."

Logie said he began working with Balto when he went to Afghanistan in 2009. Working as a contracted handler first with the U.S. Special Forces, then the Canadian Military, the pair spent almost a year together searching for explosives and clearing the way for troops until the day Logie was injured.

"When you're over there in that kind of condition, the dog is pretty much on your hip 24/7," Logie said. "You sleep with him, live with him, eat with him… He's got a good sniffer on him. He found a lot before I got hurt."

On May 9, 2010, Logie said he and Balto were sent out to clear a compound near some grape fields where explosives were often buried. Picking up some IED residue from a nearby building, Balto pulled Logie toward the structure — and away from a powerful "primary" IED.

Logie hit a secondary IED, which sent shrapnel through his left arm and leg, parts of his right leg and arm and damaged his hearing. But he believes hitting the less powerful explosive spared his life.
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