A community paid tribute to a military service dog on Wednesday; a Powell veteran said goodbye to his “brother, protector, co-pilot and best friend.”

A Wednesday service commemorated the life and service of Michael, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, who reached the rank of major in the U.S. Army for his work sniffing out explosive devices in Iraq with his handler, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Bessler of Powell. Michael later became Bessler’s service animal. He was shot and killed in an incident last month.

Bessler, amid tears, listed off a series of Mike’s qualities during a memorial service at Northwest College — things like being loyal, heroic, intelligent, personable, brave, resilient and dedicated.

“He was dedicated not only to his job in the military, but as my service animal,” Bessler said.

A crowd that approached 100 people attended the memorial service, with many following a procession to Crown Hill Cemetery, where a service with military honors was held.

In some circles, paying the same tribute to a dog as to a human soldier might be controversial, but it was not among the Powell Veterans Honor Guard.

“It’s not just a dog. It’s our comrade,” explained John Bustos, the honor guard’s commander.

Bessler met Mike shortly before one of his six deployments to Iraq and the two served together in the war for about 16 months, the U.S. Army has reported.

“Major Mike’s” skill in detecting bombs made him something of a “rock star,” as the Washington Post has described him.

“They lived, slept and worked together in a powerful partnership, serving their country, their army, their special forces and their brothers in arms,” Rev. Megan Nickles of St. John’s Episcopal Church said at Wednesday’s service. “The work Mike did with Matt spared countless lives.”

However, Mike ultimately became unable to do the job because of canine post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Bessler — who received two Bronze Stars over a military career that spanned multiple countries — also came home from Iraq and other conflicts with PTSD.

Then something perhaps unprecedented happened: Michael was able to be retrained as a psychological service animal for Bessler, helping him deal with his traumatic brain injury.

“It was in their mutual woundedness that they began to heal,” Nickles said Wednesday, adding, “The horrors and nightmares they held in common were the very thing that healed those wounds.”

Nickles said Michael knew what Bessler needed, such as when as he was anxious or when he needed to get up off the couch and throw a tennis ball.

Nickles said the dog knew Bessler better than anyone.

“We couldn’t talk, but Mike understood — or I understood ‘doganese,’” Bessler explained Wednesday.

Michael was fatally shot by a bicyclist on Oct. 10 in the county road near Bessler’s rural Powell home. The bicyclist, Jeffery Brandt, said he felt bad that Michael had died, but said he’d acted in self-defense after Michael attacked him. The Park County Sheriff’s Office concluded last week that the facts support the cyclist’s account. Bessler still has questions and has said he’s “disgusted” with the Sheriff’s Office’s findings.

Michael’s violent death brought international attention, including strong opinions about the incident and support for Bessler; a crowd-funding campaign raised more than $14,800 on the soldier’s behalf.

Many news outlets attended Wednesday’s service, including a crew from the television news program “Inside Edition” and a photographer representing the Washington Post.

One of Bessler’s main concerns following Michael’s death was that he receive a funeral with military honors.

“These guys, we said, ‘you bet, we’ll do that,’” said Bustos, the Powell Veterans Honor Guard commander.

The honor guard provided the same cemetery service for Major Mike as they would for a human soldier.

(Michael isn’t actually buried at the Crown Hill Cemetery — cemetery rules prohibit animal burials — but there’s a headstone commemorating his life.)

“People that have never seen these dogs in action, never seen them doing anything else except bark and stuff like that, they don’t understand the closeness that a dog handler has, the love he has for that (dog),” Bustos explained. “We consider them a human being.”

Powell veteran Matt Sagrilla, who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, had a similar take.

“A dog watches your back just as much, if not more, than a person would,” Sagrilla said.

He noted the animals can sniff out dangerous bombs that people can’t even see, saving lives.

“They’re not given enough credit — nearly enough credit,” Sagrilla said.

Sagrilla doesn’t know Bessler and he attended Wednesday’s services simply to pay respects to a fellow local veteran.

“Just because I understand,” he said. “I was there. I get it, and at the end of the day, that’s kind of all you’ve got left anyway.”