Man's Best Friend: The inspiring true story of Sergeant Luke Warburton, his police dog Chuck and the crime-busting Dog Unit

by Luke Warburton, Simon Bouda

At 10.30 p.m. on 12 January 2016 Acting Sergeant Luke Warburton thought he was taking his last breath. A decorated New South Wales Police Officer, the father of three was looking death in the face after a bullet pierced his femoral vein. If it wasn't for the fact that it happened in the Emergency Ward of Sydney's Nepean Hospital, Warburton would probably have been dead already. An hour earlier, he'd walked to his police van with his ever-faithful German shepherd, Chuck, trotting alongside.

Later, Luke would be awarded the Commissioner's Valour Award for conspicuous merit and exceptional bravery in the line of duty. He would maintain he was just a copper doing his job.

So, too, was Chuck, who was nationally recognised for bringing down Australia's most wanted man, Macolm Naden, after a manhunt lasting more than seven years.

Man's Best Friend is Luke and Chuck's story. It's the story of a boy who dreamed of one day being a policeman, of his love for dogs and his time at the NSW Police Dog Unit. It's also the story of an ordinary man and his ordinary dog doing extraordinary things in the line of duty.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 23, 2019

Reviews

[✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a sucker for true crime kinds of stories. Add in a dog and I am putty in their hands.

I remember seeing the news story of Luke Warburton's shooting. I don't watch much news any more, but hearing Nepean Hospital in the news story made my ears prick up, as my mum worked their for many years and it always catches my attention.

This book - man, it is a heck of an emotional ride.

Luke tells his story of becoming a police officer, of becoming a dog handler, and of that night with humour, with emotion and with a turn of phrase that brings you right into the story with Luke and his K9s. Though written with journalist Simon Bouda, you can tell that this is Luke's voice shining through.

It was a wonderful insight into the world of the NSW Dog Unit, the animals, the handler and the connection between man and beast.

I have already recommended this book to a few of my friends, and I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at the library to pick up a book I had on hold and passed this on the 'suggested' shelf. I stopped, flicked through and thought I would give it a go. And I am so glad I did. This is in my Top 5 books of 2019. I couldn't put it down. A story of courage, strength and most of all loyalty. The courage of the dog handlers, the courage of the dogs that serve and the unshakable bond that forms between them. I can't recommend this book enough. I just loved it.

[Cristo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must be in the minority here as this book was just ok for me. I felt I should have appreciated the book more, being a factual account of a police officer’s career journey including a frightening encounter with a crazed man and the resulting potentially fatal wounding. But I just didn’t see the book in the same glowing way other reviewers did.
Sure the writer was not a professional author, but the writing style was very simplistic to me and not engaging.
As the author said more than once, he is a goal oriented person and I could imagine that's how he set about each section; chapter about growing up - done, tick. Chapter about getting into the dog unit - done, tick etc. There wasn’t enough depth to the topics for me.
As a dog lover I was interested to read more about the police dog side of things, but once again it skimmed over the topic (as he mentioned, he couldn’t elaborate too much about the training side of things for security reasons and I understand that), but it still left me feeling - is that it?
The Robert Crais book “Suspect” about Maggie the ex military dog was far more engaging for me and I felt more connection to their story.
The photos were a welcome inclusion, bringing the story more to life but overall I was disappointed unfortunately.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, particularly the parts about explaining how the police dogs are trained and how they work. Luke's story is an emotional one and the book follows his journey through his career in the police. I would have like to have heard a bit more about the dogs (I am a dog lover if you can't tell). The only thing I didn't like was that I found there were a few bold and very generalized political opinions expressed, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Sergeant Luke Warburton's heroic experiences and his gorgeous dogs.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating read, Luke describes the amazing connection between man & dog while on the beat together & the hard work & dedication it takes to get there.
He shares his toughest times In his own down to earth manner, which gives the reader true insight to what the police have to deal with daily.
Thanks for sharing your story Luke, I admire your courage & determination, You are an inspiration!

[Annie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story. Policeman and his amazing Police Dog "Chuck". We do not appreciate our Police Force as much as we should as to how hard their job is. Their dogs live and breed as well as the Policeman to keep us safe with very little reward. A heart wrenching story beautifully told.

[kimm_ii · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a tear in my eye just about the whole book, couldn't put it down. A great read by a true hero

[Book Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Dog Training parts are interesting and it is emotional in some parts, but not sure how far the story has strayed from the truth.

[Tom Forsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Luke should be commended on his work as a cop. Have already recommended and given this book into a friend.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspirational and brave man. Gives a new appreciation of the sacrifices these men and women make every day. Beautifully written but keep the tissues handy! Thank you for your service Mr Warburton and Chuck