Top Dog
The Story of Marine Hero Lucca
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Narrated by:
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Neil Shah
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By:
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Maria Goodavage
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling author of Soldier DogsTop Dog, Maria Goodavage takes listeners into the life of Lucca K458, a decorated and highly skilled military working dog. An extraordinary bond developed between Lucca and Marine Corps handler Chris Willingham, launching what became a legendary 400-mission career. A Specialized Search Dog, Lucca belongs to an elite group trained to work off-leash at long distances from her handler. She served alongside both Special Forces and regular infantry. She and Willingham became so sought-after that units scheduled missions around their availability.
The audiobook describes in gritty detail the team’s adventures on and off the battlefields, including tense, lifesaving explosives finds and firefights as well as the bravery of fellow handlers and dogs they served with. Ultimately, we see how the bond between Lucca and Willingham overcame the endless brutalities of war and the traumas this violence ignites. Here is a portrait of modern warfare with a heart-warming and inspiring conclusion that will touch dog lovers and the toughest military listeners.
©2014 Maria Goodavage and Christopher Elden Willingham (P)2014 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Rob had a pretty rough childhood: He was given up for adoption as an infant, brought into a family of highly decorated military men, suffered the loss of his mother to cancer, rebelled, and landed himself in military school. When he finally returns home, he meets Cindy, who quickly becomes his best friend. After graduation the two go off to college at opposite ends of Texas, and their paths diverge.
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Great 'read'
- By Ryan C. Mercer on 03-07-13
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Until Tuesday
- By: Luis Carlos Montalvan
- Narrated by: Luis Carlos Montalvan
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalvan never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home, however, the pressures of his physical wounds, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. In constant physical pain, he soon found himself unable to climb a simple flight of stairs or face a bus ride to the VA hospital. He drank; he argued; he cut himself off from those he loved. Then Luis met Tuesday, a beautiful and sensitive golden retriever....
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Very Good Book
- By Char on 08-05-11
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Two Wars
- One Hero's Fight on Two Fronts: Abroad and Within
- By: Nate Self
- Narrated by: Nate Self
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time, Army Ranger hero Nate Self tells his story. Self recounts the Roberts Ridge Rescue mission, the ferocious battles in Afghanistan, and the lone war of attrition that Nate Self has waged against post-traumatic stress disorder. This audio will become a go-to work for understanding the long-term effects of the war on terror. Thousands of families are fighting this battle, and Nate Self opens up his whole life - tragedies, successes, failures, and a struggle with suicidal thoughts - to share the facts.
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Story of a Young Warrior
- By Becky Lea on 09-15-24
By: Nate Self
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Touching the Dragon
- And Other Techniques for Surviving Life's Wars
- By: James Hatch, Christian D'Andrea
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, James Hatch
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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James Hatch is a former special ops Navy SEAL senior chief, master naval parachutist, and expert military dog trainer and handler. His fateful final mission in Afghanistan went south, and Hatch was left with a shattered femur from an AK-47 round and the SEAL dog who fought alongside him was dead. As a result of his horrific leg wound, his 24-year military career came to an end - and with it the only life he’d ever known. In Touching the Dragon, we witness his long road to recovery.
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Rare Honesty - Raw and Well Written
- By Diana on 06-02-18
By: James Hatch, and others
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The Silence of War
- An Old Marine in a Young Marine's War
- By: Terry McGowan, Bill O'Reilly - foreword
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Terry McGowan had been a beat cop, a marine captain, and a special agent for the FBI before retiring at the age of 50. But when tragedy struck the United States on September 11, 2001, Terry felt an undiminished sense of duty to protect and serve his country. Six years later he was in Iraq as a member of a team of high-ranking retired and active-duty military working for the highest level of marine military intelligence. His success in Iraq led to a position as a law enforcement professional with the marines in Afghanistan.
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Respectful, Heartfelt, but Writing is Dry
- By Gillian on 09-04-16
By: Terry McGowan, and others
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Navy SEAL Dogs
- My Tale of Training Canines for Combat
- By: Mike Ritland
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The Navy SEAL teams' elite K9 warriors do it all - 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 is the tale of how Ritland discovered his passion and grew up to train these elite dogs. After becoming a SEAL, he was on combat deployment in Iraq when he saw a military working dog in action, and he instantly knew he'd found his true calling.
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Engaging
- By Jean on 02-09-17
By: Mike Ritland
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Violence of Action
- The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror
- By: Charles Faint, Marty Skovlund Jr., Leo Jenkins
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Paul Boehmer, Emily Durante
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Violence of Action is much more than the true, first-person accounts of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Global War on Terror. Within this audio are the heartfelt, firsthand accounts from and about the men who lived, fought, and died for their country, their regiment, and each other. Objective Rhino, Haditha Dam, recovering Jessica Lynch, the hunt for Zarqawi, the recovery of Extortion 17, and everything in between...
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Great Book
- By shane on 06-18-15
By: Charles Faint, and others
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You Don't Lose 'Til You Quit Trying
- Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient
- By: Sammy Lee Davis, Caroline Lambert
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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On November 18, 1967, Private First Class Davis' artillery unit was hit by a massive enemy offensive. At 21 years old, he resolved to face the onslaught and prepared to die. Soon he would have a perforated kidney, crushed ribs, a broken vertebra, his flesh ripped by beehive darts, a bullet in his thigh, and burns all over his body. Ignoring his injuries, he manned a two-ton Howitzer by himself, crossed a canal under heavy fire to rescue three wounded American soldiers, and kept fighting until the enemy retreated.
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Creed to Live By
- By GroovyMonkey8 on 01-15-21
By: Sammy Lee Davis, and others
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Hope Unseen
- The Story of the U.S. Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer
- By: Scotty Smiley, Doug Crandall
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Blindness became Captain Scotty Smiley’s journey of supreme testing. As he lay helpless in the hospital, he resented the theft of his dreams, but with his wife’s love and the support of family and friends, Scotty’s response became God’s transforming moment. Since the moment he forced his way through nurses and cords to take a simple shower, he has climbed Mount Rainier, won an ESPY Award, surfed, skydived, become a father, earned an MBA from Duke, and much more.
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Perseverance with a little help
- By Kevin P Key on 07-09-16
By: Scotty Smiley, and others
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From Baghdad, With Love
- A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava
- By: Jay Kopelman
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Love and hope often arrive in the strangest places and in the strangest ways. During his tour of duty in Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman of the U.S. Marines endured the emotional stress common for those involved in bloody battles for freedom. Although the rules forbid pets, Kopelman and his comrades adopted an abandoned puppy left behind after the battle for Fallujah. The dog (named Lava) befriended the Marines and journalists, and was eventually smuggled out of Iraq.
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Wonderful Book
- By InADaze on 10-18-06
By: Jay Kopelman
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Shade it Black
- Death and After in Iraq
- By: Jessica Goodell, John Hearn
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Jess enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduating from high school in 2001, and in 2004 she volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps' first officially declared Mortuary Affairs unit in Iraq. Her platoon was tasked with recovering and processing the remains of fallen soldiers. With sensitivity and insight, Jess describes her job retrieving and examining the remains of fellow soldiers lost in combat in Iraq, and the psychological intricacy of coping with their fates, as well as her own.
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Credit-Worthy Slug to the Gut
- By Gillian on 03-25-14
By: Jessica Goodell, and others
What listeners say about Top Dog
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- James L. Nolan
- 06-22-20
Courageous men and dogs of the U.S. Marines.
This is a book that tells of courageous men and the dogs that were just as courageous doing a job to protect our armed forces. God bless them all!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kevin Rendon
- 06-26-15
Great story!
A great story! Not just for dog lovers. Makes me want to get a German Shepard.
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- Debbie
- 06-29-17
Iraq, Afghanistan, Soldiers, Marines, DOG!
Alright, Y'all . . . This Alabama mama of a two combat veteran sons and the wife of a retired Sergeant Major LOVES this story of Lucca . . . whose handler just happens to come from Alabama . . . ROLL TIDE . . . Seriously, this book will melt the heart of anyone who has ever had a loved one deployed to a combat zone, known the fear involved when soldiers and marines go outside the gates of the FOB in search of IEDs, and dread the knock on their door that might come at any time of the day or night notifying them that their son/daughter/husband has been injured or killed in the line of duty . . . learning more about the canine working dogs in the military was fascinating for me, and a blessing to hear about the ways that the handlers and the dogs bonded and together saved the lives of many of our military in Iraq and Afghanistan . . .the changing policies that now allow the dogs to retire and come home and be a permanent part of their handler's family lend themselves to the healing of many a soldier and family beyond the military context . . . thank you so much for this amazing book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sally Jo Daniels
- 07-13-15
Best dog story ever
A wonderful account of these brave warrior dogs and the men who adore them. Best of all, Lucca is still enjoyable her semi-retirement as a symbol of war dogs everywhere.
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- lpinnc
- 07-02-15
Heartwarming story
What did you love best about Top Dog?
Not only a great story about a wonderful dog, but an inside look at a truly unique relationship between handlers and their dogs. I had heard stories about service dogs, but I really enjoyed learning about what a valuable role they play in combat.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Lucca, of course!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I definitely cried any time one of the dogs was killed or injured, but when the handler climbed into the cage with Lucca to comfort her, that was probably what moved me most.
Any additional comments?
Don't pass on this one.
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- Liz D.
- 07-05-19
Another excellent book by this author!
Totally enjoyable. You go along with the missions of this hero dog and her handlers. There is also humor involved where you get to know, that while highly trained and intelligent, after all, they have similar traits like our own dogs. I read Secret Service Dogs too. Both books are enjoyable and the narration is easy to listen to!!! If you love dogs and the military or just want to go on a mission with them, I recommend this book!
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- Dave Knight
- 06-30-15
What a hero!
Great work for a good read. This is one of the best honor audiobooks about a hero dog. Takes you into training and battle. I'm sure I'll have to listen to this again!
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- S. Little
- 06-21-15
Great!!
The book had substance where it could end earlier... A bit lengthy in the end. Story is wonderful
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- Jean
- 07-02-15
Masterfully told epic of a canine hero
This is the story of Marine Corps hero Lucca K458, a German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix, off-leash IED-detecting military working dog (MWD). Lucca conducted 400 missions over three deployments during her six year career and saved countless soldiers and marines without injury except her own. On March 23, 2012, with a dozen Special Forces soldiers in the Nahr Saraj district of Afghanistan, Lucca detonated an IED and lost her left forelimb.
Lucca had two handlers in her career, Marine Staff Sgt. Chris Willingham and Cpl. Juan “ROD” Rodriguez, who saved her life after the explosion. Goodavage captures the pure essence of the handler-dog bond when she writes of Willingham’s extended transfer of the leash to Rodriguez. Lucca is retired and was adopted by Willingham and his family. The DOD does not give dogs awards, but the Marine Corps League of Tuscaloosa gave her a Purple Heart plague, the VFW in Fairfax, Virginia gave her an honorary position in its organization.
The book is a beautifully told story told through the eyes of the handler. I enjoyed this true story and if you are a dog person you will to. Neil Shah narrated the story.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Historygal777
- 06-15-15
Grab a Tissue Box
Other than the novel Suspect, about a dog with PTSD, and a few others I'm usually not into animal books, but if you have even a passing interest in books about them I urge you download this.
It wasn't until some way through that I realized it was about a real dog...a world renowned hero no less. I listened to the entire book at one sitting, didn't eat all day (I'm starving now!), and my eyes were leaking through 25-30th% of the time.
if you have enjoyed books about Seabiscut, Phar Lap, Ole Yeller, etc. you'll like this. One thing is that while I usually listen at normal speed I had to listen to this one at 1.5 speed...the narrator was just a little slow for this Texan.
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2 people found this helpful