By Malini Bawa

During my embed in Sadr City, I ran into several K-9 teams.

The first dog I saw was a fellow passenger riding in a Blackhawk helicopter.

When I reached COP Callahan at the edge of Sadr City, I talked to several K-9 handlers.  They told me the dogs are mainly used to sniff for explosives.  But most of the K-9’s are also trained to chase down suspects and hold them at bay.

In Iraq and other Muslim cultures, dogs are considered unclean, and many Iraqis are terrified of them.