Born and trained in Israel, Dino takes commands in Hebrew but also understands English, said Sgt. Jonathan Overland, who took over as Dino’s handler after Diaz was killed.

Diaz and Dino had worked together at Twentynine Palms before deploying to Afghanistan. The two developed a bond.

That bond allowed the two “to be very effective doing their job on the streets of Afghanistan,” Salvador Diaz said.

One of the family’s prized possessions is a picture sent by their son from Afghanistan showing him and Dino.