Matthew Bessler’s 10-year-old Belgian Malinois named Mike was shot and killed last Saturday by a bicyclist who says the dog attacked him. When he returned late that night, his roommate broke the news to him that the unthinkable had occurred: At 9 years of age, Mike was shot and killed by a bicyclist less than 10 feet away.
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The cyclist sustained no injuries.
But neighbours claim they did not hear Mike barking before the gunshot.
The cyclist has not been charged with a crime.
He and his handler, Matthew Bessler, earned two Bronze Stars – one of the military’s highest accolades.
A friend was staying at Bessler’s house and was watching Mike and Bessler’s other dog Ziva. The bicyclist claims that he felt threatened by the animal, but the owner of the decorated combat dog doesn’t believe his story.
The Park County Sheriff’s Office has not cited the 59-year-old cyclist, who was not injured in the incident, for any wrongdoing, according to the Powell Tribune.
“We are a community coming together to mourn the loss of a courageous military service dog who deserves the honor to be laid to rest with a military funeral and burial….”
Despite his title, Mike still became the victim of human cruelty, and Bessler is left mourning the dog who meant so much to him.
Matthew’s encounter with Mike happened during his first stint in Iraq, where the young dog was being trained for the arduous job ahead.
The retired Staff Sergeant said: ‘I would like to take a civil avenue to go after him – the gentleman that shot him – because Mike was a retired military officer.
And Bessler will consider that taking his own life would mean leaving Mike behind. “It was just a gunshot”.
“If the guy was actually fending the dogs off with a bicycle, (Mike) would have really been barking, and there was no barking”, the Army veteran said. I know my dog.
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An Army veteran is asking for a burial with military honors for his dog that was shot and killed outside Powell. I was very distraught about it. I just lost my family member, and I just, I asked … “Please help us fund a funeral that will do this military war veteran the respect he deserves”.
