Ukraine has a new comrade-in-arms: a shepherd dog left behind by the Russians is now sniffing out mines and explosives for the National Guard.
The Belgian shepherd Max has enjoyed elite training: During the Ukraine war, he was supposed to support a Russian special unit in their attack in Mykolaiv Oblast (in southern Ukraine). But after the Russians advanced, the Ukraine managed a counter-offensive, the Russian soldiers had to withdraw, German shepherd Max was injured – and his unit simply left him in enemy territory.
The collar worn by the dog quickly caught the eye of the Ukrainian troops: based on the inscription, they found out that the collars were made for the search dogs of Russian special forces. So the boulder could prove valuable, so the soldiers nursed it back to health. Max now supports Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invaders.
German shepherd defected to Ukraine
The approximately three-year-old dog initially only understood commands in Russian – “but we give him Ukrainian lessons,” a dog trainer from the National Guard told the Ukrainian medium “Euromaidan Press”. “He understands all important instructions.” Max is now part of the National Guard, for which he searches for booby traps and unexploded mines. Soldiers joke that he now understands Ukrainian so well that he can easily communicate with Patron, another Ukrainian mine detection dog who was even awarded a medal by President Zelenskyy.
Although Belgian shepherds are considered highly intelligent and extremely loyal, the Ukrainian army has managed to recruit Max for their purposes. “From now on, Max will serve in our unit, defend Ukraine and bite the Russians in the ass,” announced one soldier.
After the Russians had left him, the dog initially roamed the area without a master and fed on discarded food. A Ukrainian family then took care of him. “We are grateful to the family for taking Max in and handing him over to us,” said a member of the National Guard. “They could easily have sold him for good money because he’s a purebred.”
Sources: “Euromaidan Press” / Ukrainian National Guard on Facebook
