Lucca, Military Dog, Lost Leg Protecting Platoon In Afghanistan (VIDEO)

She is a military dog and the soldiers' best friend who lost her leg in battle. Lucca, an 8-year-old Belgian malinois served in Iraq and was on tour in Afghanistan when a IED detonated causing her to lose her left leg. Lucca and her handler joined Huffpost Live's Alicia Menendez Friday to discuss their situation and the use of dogs in the military.

"The number one threat to coalition forces has been the IED in Iraq and Afghanistan," Sgt. Christopher Willingham, Lucca's Original Handler and Marine Corps Sergeant of 14 Years told HuffPost Live. "The military working dogs have been the number one countermeasure, so whenever we have the opportunity to take the dog out and have them search for explosives in front of patrol then we'll definitely use that resource."

Lucca is a specialized search dog trained to detect trace amounts of explosive compounds and warn handlers where they might be present.

"Nobody else on the patrol was injured," Willingham said, "so she saved a lot of lives and we're very lucky to have her."

Watch the Full Segment on Huffpost Live.