Patron has been praised for his lifesaving work finding mines and unexploded shells (Picture:@patron_dsns/Instagram)
Meet Patron – a very brave boy who is tirelessly working to save lives in war-torn Ukraine.
Video footage shows the Jack Russell terrier enthusiastically searching woodlands in search of landmines and other explosives.
The two-year-old service dog is given fresh cheese at the end of the day, which makes it all worthwhile for him.
Patron – whose name means ‘bullet’ in Ukrainian – has done such a good job that the country’s foreign ministry gave him a special thank you on social media.
In a tweet featuring a photo of the dog, the department said: ‘Patron is a service dog in Chernihiv. He has discovered over 150 explosive devices in Ukraine since the full scale Russian invasion began.
‘Patron works closely with deminers to make Ukrainian cities safe again. Thank you so much for your service,’ the ministry wrote in a tweet with a photo of Patron.’
The State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine praised him as a ‘good boy’ for helping pyrotechnicians in the Chernihiv region clear the area of ‘Russian gifts’.
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Fearless Patron is rewarded with blocks of fresh cheese at the end of his working day (Picture: Instagram/patron_dsns)
The two-year-old Jack Russel has been praised by the Ukrainian government for his tireless work (Picture: Instagram/patron_dsns)
Unexploded ordinance doesn’t scare this hard working dog (Picture: Instagram/patron_dsns)
Patron’s name means ‘bullet’ in Ukrainian (Picture: Instagram/patron_dsns)
‘Be aware, look under your feet, and do not upset Patron’, the civil defence and rescue agency said in a post.
Sharing footage of the dog hard at work, the Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security wrote: ‘One day, Patron’s story will be turned into a film, but for now, he is faithfully performing his professional duties.’
Russia has been widely accused of using weapons against not only soldiers but also civilians in Ukraine since it launched its invasion on 24th February.
The Kremlin continues to deny targeting civilians, despite more and more mass graves filled with corpses being discovered across the country.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion, the UN has recorded 5,718 civilian casualties, but the true number could be far higher as more bodies are found.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that in the besieged seaside city of Mariupol alone – more than 20,000 residents have lost their lives.
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