When war broke out in Ukraine, a Jack Russell Terrier has reached the status of a celebrity in the country. His name is Patron, which means “bullet” in Ukrainian. It’s a fitting name for the puppy, based on his work: Patron is a bomb-sniffing dog. Since the war began in February, he has sniffed out more than 200 unexploded explosives, saving countless lives. His service in the war earned him the Presidential Medal of Ukraine.
The patron has received his recognition. Among those who save 🇺🇦 lives every day are four-legged heroes. The most famous of them all is Patron, a bomb-sniffing dog. With the presence of @JustinTrudeau, @ZelenskyyUa awarded him an award “For dedicated work in #UAarmy“. pic.twitter.com/mssSTlfIKW
– Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 9, 2022
The medal was presented to Patron and its owner, Mykhailo Iliev, of the Civil Protection Service, on May 9 at a press conference, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy said Patron was “a small but very famous commando,” a military engineer, NPR report. “[He’s] a dog that helps clean our land from the traces of occupiers, and also helps to teach children safety in the mines,” Zelenskyy continued. “Due to the Russian invaders, this is one of the most urgent tasks today – teaching children to recognize and avoid explosives.”
Patron is only two years old but has already stolen hearts all over the world. He has a Official Instagram page with more than 262,000 followers and inspires a huge amount of fan art — think of his paintings, drawings, cartoons, and luxe versions knitted in a black sweatshirt tiny.
However, Patron didn’t start his career as a bomb-sniffing dog. He was first trained by cytologist—Dog scientists — as an example of how dogs can learn to do specific tasks. At the start of the war, he switched to sniffing out landmines and missiles. He was trained to smell gunpowder so he could find explosives.
Iliev has been hunting for unexploded mines since 2014. When Patron accompanies Iliev to the field, he will smell gunpowder and signal to Iliev. Then, Iliev and his teammates will destroy the device that Patron found. Patron “for rays of sunshine, for smiles and only hope for victory and peace on earth,” said Iliev Today. He also said Patron will continue the work “for as long as our people need it.”
Famous dog #Patrondaily saver #Ukraine from “gift of #Russian world”, fell asleep during a briefing with journalists.
Looks like we won’t see anything nicer than this. pic.twitter.com/E44zZ8qJbA
– NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 8, 2022
When not at work, Patron does charity work in the community, greeting children at hospitals and generally spreading joy. He also loves to eat cheese, run around with friends and sleep – a trait that was shown recently when he fell asleep on the table during a press conference.
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