A Home for Dyngo

In this unforgettable memoir, Rebecca Frankel—NYT bestselling author of War Dogs—stumbles into a journey of love and self-discovery after adopting a retired war dog of her own.

Of all the dogs Rebecca Frankel met in her years reporting on military K9s, Dyngo was her favorite. When Dyngo retires, his handlers extend a rare civilian request: Will Rebecca take Dyngo?

Thrilled, she says yes, and uproots her tranquil, 30-something, single life for the ten-year-old Belgian Malinois who saved countless lives in Afghanistan.

But five-foot-tall Frankel quickly realizes that living with the 80-pound, bite-trained war dog with a reputation for “being a handful” is not going to be easy. Dyngo, who thrived under RPG blasts and sniper fire, doesn’t want comfy dog beds or walks in the park. He wants to keep hunting for bombs. He whines, he paces, he upends furniture.

Unnerved but determined, Frankel resolves to give Dyngo the happy civilian life he deserves. But before she can be the person her dog needs, she has to face her own insecurities about what she can never become: a dog handler who’s been to war. With riveting scenes from Dyngo’s combat tours, Frankel delivers an emotional investigation of their past lives as she and Dyngo begin a new one together, forging their own unbreakable bond.

Honest and funny, heart-wrenching and real, A Home for Dyngo is a love story, and a singular account of an overlooked part of every war hero’s journey: life beyond the military. As Frankel and Dyngo discover, sometimes life’s greatest adventures start at home.