Axel, a deaf 3-year-old Dogo Argentino, is deploying with the Michigan National Guard after years of specialized training with hand signals and visual cues.
The ministry dog serves alongside Sgt. Mollie Karazim, a religious affairs specialist with the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, and has mastered more than 50 commands — several communicated through sign language. Karazim, who adopted Axel as a puppy after his original owners surrendered him to a shelter upon discovering his deafness, spent years preparing him for military life.
“When I first adopted him, I began training him but with the understanding that I would have to wait and see if he would integrate well with the unit when he grew up,” Karazim said. She slowly introduced him to unit events, watching how the floppy-eared puppy responded to the chaotic environment of soldiers and equipment.
“He did great. My command team has been outstanding about having Axel in the unit and seeing the value of him,” she continued.
The leadership initially had practical concerns about bringing a deaf dog into an infantry setting. “Their question was, ‘What are you going to do? Will he be able to be in the field?'” Karazim recalled. “I said, ‘Yes, of course. What else?'”
Axel now works in the field and in Humvees, wearing a custom vest and collar made specifically for his ministry duties. “When he sees those, he knows he is going to drill,” Karazim said.
The training process required developing an entirely nonverbal communication system between handler and dog. “It (training a deaf dog) is very different from a dog who can hear,” she told the National Guard in an interview. “He has to trust me, and we have built that trust from a puppy.”
Karazim’s path to working with Axel carried its own irony. When she first joined the National Guard, she had sought a different canine role entirely. “I originally wanted to be a canine handler, but then I learned that was not a role available in Michigan,” she said. “As I explored different options, religious affairs specialist seemed like the next best fit.”
That pivot led her to work with chaplains supporting hundreds of soldiers across multiple companies, a role where Axel has become an unexpected asset during counseling sessions. “Having Axel in the infantry has been a huge benefit,” Karazim said. “He is an icebreaker, and he has helped me connect with Soldiers I otherwise would not have connected with.”
The National Guard highlighted Axel’s upcoming deployment in social media posts on Friday across its Facebook and Instagram accounts, drawing enthusiastic responses from followers. “Keep the troops in line Sarge!” one commenter wrote, alongside an American flag emoji. “Can we send care packages?” another asked. “God bless our Troops, including the furry ones,” someone else added.
Karazim described the years of preparation as deeply worthwhile. “This whole experience has been incredibly rewarding,” she said. “Axel has been a great asset to the ministry and has helped make everyone light up.”
Axel’s deployment with the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment marks the culmination of his journey from surrendered shelter puppy to fully integrated military ministry dog.