A military dog is being hailed as a hero in Colombia after detecting a bomb planted by guerrilla fighters that exploded during a military operation, authorities said, adding that the wounded canine’s actions saved the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians. The incident was announced just two days after a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded in the same area, killing one soldier and wounding two others.
The anti-explosive canine, named Sanson, was helping troops conduct a reconnaissance operation in Antioquia, a mountainous region in northwest Colombia, when the bomb exploded, the army said Friday in a social media post. Authorities said the bomb had been planted on a “community-used path” by the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish language acronym ELN.
With one of his legs shattered by the blast, Sanson was able to drag himself to his handler, soldier Carlos Eduardo Beleño, authorities said.
“Our #FourLeggedHero lost one of his limbs but saved the lives of 36 soldiers and hundreds of residents of the La Raya hamlet in Yondó #Antioquia, who pass through this area daily,” the Second Division of the National Army said in a separate social media post.
Authorities said Sanson is now recovering after surgery, and his leg had to be amputated. A video released by the army shows the dog being treated for his injuries after the explosion and later being examined at an animal hospital.
“He will no longer be able to serve, but his legacy will live on in every soldier he bravely protected,” the army said.
The Colombian military blamed the explosion on ELN, a group of roughly 6,000 fighters that is fighting Colombia’s government. Peace talks with the group — which the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization — were suspended in January, when the ELN was blamed for dozens of deaths in raids near the border with Venezuela.
Authorities said the attack targeting soldiers violated international humanitarian law and put the “entire civilian population at risk.”
News of the explosion came just days after a bomb attached to a donkey exploded in the same region of Colombia, killing one soldier and wounding two others. ELN was also blamed for that attack.
Earlier this month in Italy, a heroic sniffer dog who helped find nine missing people during his career was killed by food laced with nails, sparking national outrage and a police investigation.
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