Why I Left The SEAL Teams: Navy SEAL Recalls Losing His K9 In a Dangerous Op

About this video

Ritland’s guest recounts the story of his military working dog Tyson being killed in Iraq in 2017, and the conflict that arose when he tried to deploy as a replacement handler. According to the guest, he was rejected by the receiving team despite having trained the replacement dog, then faced administrative retaliation over an unreported apparel business. The guest describes these incidents as catalysts for his decision to leave the SEAL teams.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes how working as a canine handler improved his operational awareness and provided additional training opportunities across multiple SEAL teams
• According to the guest, his dog Tyson was killed by a rocket strike in Iraq in November 2017, and he memorialized the dog with a custom knife containing Tyson’s fur
• The guest recounts being turned away from a deployment as a replacement handler despite approval from leadership, followed by what he characterizes as command retaliation that led him to leave the teams

Episode details: published August 9, 2025 · 126.7K views · 13:52 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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