Russia is gifting a puppy to France to replace Diesel, a Counter-Terrorism Malinois dog killed in the Saint Denis raids. After the Paris attacks on November 13 2015, France hit back with raids in the Saint Denis area of Paris. Law enforcement were in search of terrorist suspects and evidence.
During the six hour operation, French forces sent in Diesel, to sniff out the apartment block thought to have housed terror suspects. Upon entry, Diesel was shot and killed while ascertaining the danger of the situation.
Five officers were then seriously injured in the raid, which lasted six hours. The mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud was shot and killed in the raids which took place in the north of Paris.
In the aftermath of the raids, the hash-tag #JeSuisChien was trending on Twitter in an outcry of sympathy for Diesel.
As a show of solidarity, Russia has sent a puppy to replace Diesel. The replacement puppy, Dobrynia is a German Shepherd and was donated by the Russian Minister of Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev.
Kolokoltsev wrote in a letter to France “I ask you to accept from Russian’s[sic] police dog handlers this shepherd puppy, who will be able to take his place in the ranks of Diesel, your dog who died doing his duty.”
It is hoped that Dobrynia will be trained for the same purpose and team as Diesel.
The minister went on to explain the name Dobrynia comes from a legendary Russian hero known for his “strength, love, courage and self-sacrifice.” Dobrynia was a bogatyr, a fictional Russian knight spoken about in folklore whose bravery and courage allowed him to lead great armies and even fight off dragons!
Dobrynia the dog will hopefully not be encountering any dragons, but let’s hope he’s just as successful as Dobrynia the Bogatyr in doing good for the world.
Featured Image via a Russian Government Agency’s Facebook Page
