Dita the Dog Is a Scene Stealer on CBS’s ‘SEAL Team’

Kate Hahn May 2, 2018, 12:30 pm

SEAL-Team-dita-the-dog — Michele Crowe/©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

While fans may be swept away by the wild things happening on CBS’s hit war-set drama SEAL Team, there’s no denying that there’s a four-legged scene stealer lurking about — Dita the dog.

She Plays

SEAL Team’s fearless Cerberus. So far, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, whose real name is Dita the Hair Missile for her ability to rocket into the air, has alerted the guys to an explosive-laden Afghan truck and even tackled a bomb maker.

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Where You’ve Seen Her

This is Dita’s first role, but high-IQ “mallies” are made for show business. “We joke they’re a cross between a German shepherd and a velociraptor on a diet of energy drinks and crack,” says Justin Melnick, who plays SEAL Brock and is Dita’s trainer and handler.

Why We Love Her

Mad skills! The canine follows the visual cue of a laser to hit her mark and uses drug-sniffing techniques to find “explosives” (marked by a synthetic narcotic on a cotton ball). She can climb ladders and, in Melnick’s arms, fast-rope out of a hovering helicopter. “No matter how scary,” he says, “if there’s explosions or gunfire, she knows I’m with her.”