New Delhi: She was a playful golden Labrador who had a nose for terrorists. On Wednesday, she was posthumously honoured with a Presidential gallantry award for laying down her life for the country.
A veteran of nine anti-terror operations, Kent was with her pack of human soldiers in Jammu in hot pursuit of a group of terrorists last September, when she was fatally shot.
She was able to lead a column of soldiers to terrorists holed up in Rajouri, and lunged forward to attack even as the militants opened fire.
Kent died trying to save her handler, then Northern Army Commander and present Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi had said last year. “She attacked the terrorist by moving ahead first,” he said. Two terrorists and one Army soldier were killed in that operation, while three other security personnel — two Army jawans and one special police officer — were injured in the encounter in Narla village.
Kent had led the charge in ‘Operation Sujaligala’. On Wednesday, she was among the 39 Mention-in-Despatches, or those whose names had been approved for gallantry.
The Army had given her a proper send-off, with her body wrapped in the tricolour and a wreath laid on it.
Four-legged fighters
Carrying the Army number 08B2, Kent was a special tracker dog who participated in her first operation in Poonch on 14 November, 2022.
She now joins a list of canine soldiers who won the hearts of soldiers with their exceptional bravery and got Mention-in-Despatches besides commendation cards from Army Commanders and even Chiefs.
Mansi, a four-year-old Labrador, was the first canine to have been selected for a posthumous war honour. Mansi and her handler Bashir Ahmed War laid down their lives to prevent an infiltration bid by terrorists in north Kashmir in 2015.
In 2022, two-year-old Axel, a Belgian Malinois of the Army’s elite assault dog squad, was also awarded posthumously. She was shot dead by a terrorist in Kashmir’s Baramulla minutes after sniffing him out.
In that operation, assault dog Bajaj had gone in first to sanitise the building in Baramulla’s Wanigam Bala, where the terrorists were hiding.
Axel was deployed after the first room of the building was sanitised. As soon as he entered the second room, one terrorist opened fire. Despite being shot, Axel hung on to him and his bravery saved soldiers as going in directly was risky.
No adoptions, last years in retirement home
Canine soldiers have played a crucial part in multiple operations of the Army.
An entire chapter of the NIA chargesheet on the Nagrota Army base attack was dedicated to the heroics of Dino, a Labrador. He helped the investigating agency find the route taken by three Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists to reach the base on 28 November 2016, and piece together details of the deadly attack that claimed the lives of seven soldiers.
There are several hundred trained dogs in the Indian Army. These are mainly foreign breeds like German Shepherds, Labradors, Belgian Shepherds and Great Swiss Mountain dogs which are trained by the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC).
Incidentally, until 2017, the Army would put down canine soldiers after retirement. The dogs were either shot dead or euthanised — the only exception being those who had got gallantry medals.
When this practice came to light, animal lovers took up the cudgels, and the matter went to the Delhi High Court. In 2016, the court directed the defence ministry to formulate a policy to rehabilitate retired dogs. The Army now runs a retirement home for these soldiers in Meerut.
Adopting an Army dog is tough in India because of the strict procedures in place. In the US, the military runs an active adoption programme for its retired canine soldiers with several veterans choosing to take them. The Department of Defence even runs a full page celebrating the role played by canine soldiers.
While the state police and central armed police forces frequently use canines in operations, there is still no system in India to take care of these dogs after retirement.
Usually, they are handed over to animal shelters with a basic amount given upfront if not found to be sick. Many dogs end up with life-threatening diseases like cancer due to years of exposure to harmful chemicals and explosives they are trained to sniff out.
Even those who are handed over to animal shelters usually end up living their last years waiting for someone to adopt them.
“In India, the concept of animals, especially dogs, as companions is still in early stages. Most see animals as a toy and a status symbol. They will buy young puppies from illegal breeders rather than adopt. The shelters are full of discarded dogs in their prime, but adoptions are still few. The number of seniors getting adopted is very less,” an animal activist said.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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