Kage: How I Became a War Dog Guardian
An American Patriot’s Connection to Afghanistan
Last week I buried my dog. I held him in my arms and pressed my nose against his face as he took his last breath. Before he passed, I whispered into his ear, “I love you. You better protect me from the other side. Nothing changes. And when it is time, I will see you again, my sweet boy.” My dear friend Miriah, and my other dog, Athena, were there with me to say our final goodbyes.
My dog’s name was Kage. He was a Belgian Malinois who had served in Afghanistan with the United Stars Army Special Forces. He had been shot in the left leg and had shrapnel wounds. He spent a lot of time patrolling in a Humvee outside of Bagram. His handler, and others from his unit, were continuously out on patrol. One tragic day, they were ambushed by the Taliban. On that day, Kage arrived back bloody, lying on his handler’s body. Although wounded, Kage survived the IED blast and small arms fire from the Taliban and was sent to Germany for medical treatment. His handler did not make it. I do not know everything about Kage’s past. Much of it is still classified; much of it is lost. I would often rub him behind his ears and say to him, “How I wish you could talk, my little baby Kage! The stories you would tell me! And how could you have had a life before you entered mine?” He would do his best to answer me with his immutable wide smile, the kindest of eyes, and nuzzle me with his snout, signaling me to continue rubbing his ears at the precise moment I would get tired and stop.
Some time ago, I had a business meeting at the Bavarian Inn in West Virgina. The meeting ended early, and I found myself, almost unknowingly, searching on my phone for German Shepherd breeders. I was thinking of getting a puppy. Gladiator Allegiance, a Military and Police K9 company came up in my search, and I called them. Miriah Allamong, the CEO, answered. I told her I was looking for a German Shepherd. She told me she had the perfect Belgian Malinois for me: Athena, she had served in the military overseas and needed a home. I told her that, like many others, I had seen videos of Belgian Malinois’ impressive feats, but the breed was “too much dog” for me. Miriah told me to come over (I was only two miles away) and see Athena for myself before making any judgements.
I pulled up to Miriah’s property, passed the dog kennels, and saw her standing outside her house with two dogs – Athena and Kage. Miriah told me both Malinois were well trained, were both former military dogs, and how Kage had suffered wounds and, irrespective of the limp in his hind leg, could still run fast as hell. I was weary. I had grown up with Labradors and Beagles. My family loved dogs, but we did not know that much about how to train them. And these – Athena and Kage – were former military dogs, after all. I took Athena on a very long walk. That is all we did together at first – just walked. I observed her, and she observed me. We then arrived back at Miriah’s house. “So, Athena served in Bagram, Afghanistan. And so did Kage, he was out working all the time outside of the perimeter and was wounded. They have been together for a very long time, and I would hate to separate them, but I’m a foster mom for so many war dogs, I can’t give them all the attention they need – these dogs need a home and a permanent family. So even if you could take one of them.” Mirah held Kage back as he was trying to come closer to Athena. I kept my poker face, But Miriah had me sold upon mentioning “served in Afghanistan.”
I have never been to Afghanistan. I have never served in the United States Military. I was born in the former Soviet-Union and at age 4, I along with my mother, emigrated, originally to Israel. When the opportunity to come to the United States materialized, my mother took it. So, we came here – specifically to New York City. I come from a vehemently anti-communist Russian-Jewish family. Aside from engaging in military service in Russia’s “great patriotic war against the nazis,” becoming part of the Russian military was frowned upon by my family, because they viewed military service in the Soviet-Union as serving the evil empire. This aspect of my family culture somewhat echoed over to the United States as well, albeit to a much lesser degree. “We love America, but are suspicious of big government,” my grandfather would say. “If America’s shores are attacked, then, sure, you have a duty to protect her, but other than that…well, I am not so sure.” My grandfather had photos of Reagan in every room in his house including the bathrooms, but his anti-government views in general did not foster a culture for our family’s future generations to want to be intimately part of any government, and thus, any military. Furthermore, as a younger man, irrespective of majoring in political science in college, I was not particularly passionate about politics or government. However, In the 2009, while living in Philadelphia, I joined Daddis Martial Arts, a fight camp that trained many MMA fighters – I was a mere student there studying Muay Thai Boxing. Daddis Martial Arts catered to many returning vets who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them were my training partners, and some became my friends. These relationships gave me the opportunity to hear, see, and absorb stories from the front lines of America’s wars not from legacy media but from people who had been closest to the action on the ground. I heard stories and saw photos firsthand that revealed the brutal cost of war. Perhaps because of its clientele, Daddis Martial Arts was run much like a military boot camp, and because I had an affinity with my teammates, I came to understand and appreciate America’s 21th century wars through the relationships I had with my teammates who had served: many were thriving after their service; some were psychologically and mentally scared; all were deeply affected by their experiences.
“Are you sure she served specifically in Afghanistan? Not Iraq?” I asked Miriah.
“I don’t know about Iraq. But both Kage and Athena were in Afghanistan, that much I know.” Miriah answered.
I crouched down to match Athena’s eyes. She licked my face. I fell in love. I wished she could talk and tell me her life story. I told her that I would never leave her, and she would always have a home with me. I then turned to Miriah. “I’ll be back in five days, and I’ll pick Athena up.”
“Ok, great. you want to take her for a week and see how it goes first, like a trial run?”
“No. I’m Russian. I don’t do trial runs. She’s my dog. You’re gonna have to put a bullet in me to take her away from me.”
For Miriah, me adopting Athena was bittersweet. “Ok. Well, Kage will be crushed, but I have no choice, and I’m happy for Athena.”
“Look, I can’t take two Belgian Shepherds. How about this: I’ll find Kage a home with someone I know and that way they can visit each other.” Miriah was happy to hear that.
Miriah Allamong is an impressive and unusual woman. She had been overseas in many war theaters as a K9 handler, trainer, and more. For years, she has been saving former military war dogs using her own resources. I suggested to bring some organizational structure to her amazing work for dogs, and she and I, along with others in West Virgina, started War Dog Guardians – a nonprofit 501c3 that rescues United States military dogs and reacclimates them to civilians, prioritizing American veterans. Our secondary mission is to get K9s in schools across America, as we believe that K9s are the most effective way to stop the rise of mass shootings in America’s schools and college campuses.
Five days later I arrived to pick up Athena. She jumped into the back seat of my truck. I could see her inquisitively looking at me through my rear-view mirror as we pulled away from Miriah’s farm. I then desperately tried to find Kage a home. But I was unable to do so. A month later I visited Mariah again. Kage was in the outdoor kennel. Upon seeing Athena, he tried to shake down the walls of the kennel like Samson from the Bible, to get to her. Kage’s spirit affected me. Oh hell, I thought. I’m a sucker for persistence – and besides, he’s a wounded war vet. So, I took Kage too. I was utterly confused as to how I was going to manage both dogs, but the three of us made it work. Sure, we had our challenges. On a few occasions, both dogs jumped out my car window to chase bunnies, and they ganged up on squirrels on our walks, but for the most part, things were good. Athena and Kage traveled with me almost everywhere. We went running and swimming on Assateague Beach, ran in the snow at many West Virgina state parks, lobbied together at the West Virgina Capital during the 2024 session. Both dogs joined me at various Republican clubs around the country while I advocated for Israel in the context of its war with Hamas, played frisbee together, hung out at the VFW club in Easton, Maryland, visited Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, rode the New York City subways. Both dogs joined me at the Watergate Hotel to meet with members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trip to the United States, and Kage even got the chance to train with the West Virginia State police! “Kage is a one-in-a-million dog” a West Virginia K9 trainer said to me. I asked, why? “Because he has an ‘on’ switch and an ‘off’ switch. He can defend, attack, and bite with the best of them, but he also can sit with a toddler and act like a goofball. It’s difficult to get both characteristics in one dog.” That was my boy!
I was in Miami when I watched the news on television depicting the United States Armed Forces withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021 marking the end of the Afghanistan 2001–2021 war. Along with others, I was horrified at the photos showing Afghans who were fleeing Afghanistan falling out of US military C-17 cargo wheel wells as the planes left Hamid Karzai International Airport for the last time. We betrayed our allies. Thirteen US service members were killed; over $7 billion dollars in equipment was left behind; Out of the 15,000 Americans left behind, 9,000 never made it out of Afghanistan and the intelligence needed for the Taliban to find those Americans, was left behind, in most scenarios leading to their deaths and the rape of many of their wives and children; Biden mislead Americans stating that “Those Americans who wanted to leave, for the most part, already left.” What Biden is leaving out is that most of the people he is referring to had dual citizenship, while their wives, sons and daughters, did not. In many cases such dual citizens would have had to choose between escaping to America or leaving their wives and children behind to fend for themselves against a vengeful Taliban. Furthermore, Biden’s sloppy exit emboldened Russia, China, and others not to take the United States seriously, thereby losing our credibility and our power to dissuade our enemies from acting nefariously. The Afghan pullout transcends incompetence. Biden showed no respect for our troops and allies and demonstrated no leadership and took no responsibility for our young military Americans and civilians who put themselves on the line for our country. And we left hundreds of K9 dogs as well to fend for themselves. As of today, we have paid the Taliban over $2.2 billion dollars funded by taxpayers’ money to do what exactly? I do not know.
I believe America may be slipping into darkness. I believe we have a political elite who are totally disconnected from average Americans. During WWII, almost every member of the US Congress had either a son, nephew, or brother who was somehow connected to the frontlines of war. Our political elite had skin in the game and as a result strategized a clear mission to victory, in large part because they were concerned with the lives of the young men whom they were asking to go to war. Throughout history, old men make an implicit deal with young men, asking them to risk and sacrifice their lives for country, and in exchange old men do their best to put their sons (and now their daughters too) in harm’s way only when necessary. Apart from President Trump’s administration, that deal has eroded with every other White House administration since George H. Bush. The average Roman living at the end of the Roman Empire did not know the exact time and day when the Empire fell. We only know that in hindsight. If the United States keeps going down this road, in time we will not survive as a nation. And if that is to be our fate, years from now, historians will ask, “What was the day that America fell?” My answer, August 30, 2021. No great democratic power can survive such negligence and disregard for its veterans and citizens. On August 30, 2021, I asked myself what I could do to help? In the smallest way, my answer was to give Athena and Kage a great life and subsequently help rescue other United States war dogs and match them with our veterans, bringing something meaningful to the disorderly foreign policy of the Biden White House.
I believe that when a dog dies, its essence splits into three: Its body gets reclaimed by the earth; its soul goes to heaven; and a part of its spirit lives on and changes the interior of all by whom it was loved. Irrespective of everything Kage had been though, he was always in the happiest of moods. Every day he would look at me in the morning as if to say, “Dad, today is going to be the greatest day in the world.” Kage was a warrior. He was also a lover and a goofball. Furthermore, Kage (unlike my princess, Athena) had a sense of humor. Kage would find events funny – such as squirrels running up trees, negotiations with me on obtaining treats, and playing with young puppies in the park. One time he kept on gently and slyly licking a West Virgina police officer wearing a bite suit, rendering the officer feeling calm and safe, just before biting the hell out of his arm! And I swear, Kage laughed afterwards and thought it was hilarious. I carry his essence with me every day. And if you have the ears to listen, a dog can be a master teacher and reveal something to you about life, as well as about yourself. I am honored to have been Kage’s dad during the final years of his life. I can’t help but smile knowing that my Kage did more good, behaved more courageously, and exemplified the highest valor in the American-Afghanistan War, compared to President Biden’s irresponsibility and negligence concerning America’s pull-out from Afghanistan. I take pride that, in my efforts with Kage and Athena, and co-founding War Dog Guardians with Miriah Allamong, I put a tiny dent in the forces of arrogance, short-term personal gains, and bureaucratic narcissism that unfortunately exists in our elite who seem bent on destroying our country.
The greatest men of history chose to build cathedrals that they would never see completed within their lifetime. They chose to build for the sake of future generations, because that is what is needed for decent civilizations to thrive. The greatest dogs in history come into your life to love and teach you more than you could ever love and teach them. May your memory be a blessing, Kage. ‘Til we meet again…
Maxim Fisher is the ambassador to Israel for the Faith & Freedom Coalition. Maxim participated in a solidarity mission to Israel with Faith & Freedom Coalition allies, including North Carolina Lt. Gov Mark Robinson, in early November following the start of the war to reaffirm FFC’s commitment to peace in the region and support of the Israeli people. Maxim’s father, Dr. Wesley Fisher, was one of the founding members of the United States Holocaust Museum. Maxim has consulted several officials and organizations, including the WV Republican Party, and has a background in investigatory research. Max is the founder and Deputy Director of www.WarDogGuardians.org a 501c(3) non-profit that works to serve and find homes for K-9s leaving the U.S. military.
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