Army holds memorial service for its heroic dog
NEWDELHI: Recognising the contribution of canines on the battlefield, the army held a memorial service for a brave golden Labrador, named Dutch, who saved many lives by detecting improvised explosive devices (IEDS) during a string of operations in the eastern sector, two army officers said on Saturday.
Dutch died of natural causes on September 11. He was nine.
The Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Command on Saturday tweeted a message of condolence along with images of the memorial service where soldiers can be seen saluting the canine’s mortal remains covered in wreaths.
“He was a decorated dog of #Easterncommand who was instrumental in identifying IEDS in various CI/CT Ops (counter-insurgency/counterterror operations). A real hero in service to nation,” the Eastern Command said.
The memorial service was held at the Tezpur-based 19 Army Dog Unit in Assam.
The explosive detection specialist was twice awarded the Eastern Army commander’s commendation card for outstanding service that helped saved scores of lives and public property, said one of the officers cited above. The names and unique service numbers of decorated dogs are put up on rollof-honour boards at military units.
Dutch also enjoyed cult status in the army dog unit he served. In November 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to Guwahati in Assam, he detected a deadly IED placed in one of the coaches of Kamakhya Express at Alipurduar in West Bengal, said the second officer. The train starts from Kamakhya Junction in Guwahati.
A month later, Dutch helped an army squad avert a tragedy by sniffing out an IED planted in a bus in Assam’s Goalpara district. In both the cases, the army’s bomb disposal squads defused the explosive devices.
Former army chief General Deepak Kapoor said the dog units in the army play a significant role during operations as canines are trained to perform specific tasks such as sniffing out explosives, detecting drugs, tracking insurgents and accompanying soldiers on patrol.