Ukraine's National Guard tells story about service dogs rescued from Luhansk Oblast

TETIANA DENYSENKO – SUNDAY, 19 MARCH 2023

The National Guard of Ukraine has shared the story of the rescue of service dogs evacuated from Luhansk Oblast by border guard cynology experts from the temporarily occupied city of Rubizhne.

Vadym, Head of the dog training service, has been training service dogs since 2005. He has served in the 15th Sloviansk Regiment of the National Guard since 2020. He has been through fierce combat in the battles for Rubizhne, Kreminna, Sievierodonetsk, Lyman and other settlements.

Vadym was in Rubizhne at the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia.

The National Guard also posted a photo of one of the rescued dogs.

Vadym, the head of the dog training service, with his rescued dog. Photo by the National Guard

"From the very first day, we started acting as part of the reconnaissance and fought against enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups that tried to operate in our rear," the guardsman recalls.

As he states, it was difficult because he was responsible for the lives of his personnel and the service dogs, which remained in their cages at that time.

The soldiers lost two service dogs in an artillery shelling. The operational situation in Luhansk Oblast was deteriorating every day.

A National Guard member with his four-legged friend. Photo by the National Guard

"We decided to evacuate all of our four-legged companions to a safe place as such intense fighting and bombardments did not make it possible to use them effectively," Vadym said.

The service dogs have been brought back to Sloviansk to restore their combat capability. They are now being used again in stabilisation efforts, searching for people who were injured or trapped under the rubble, as well as explosives and weapons.

Soldier Vadym and a service dog who was rescued from the fighting in Luhansk Oblast. Photo by the National Guard

The National Guard member also resumed working with service dogs. He takes part in special professional training for dog cynology experts.

Vadym is also involved in selecting service dogs for the 15th Sloviansk Regiment's dog training service, which takes place in several stages and includes an assessment of the animals' qualities and abilities to work in canine units.

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