NEW DELHI: Army’s feisty Assault canine “Zoom” lost its battle against the injuries on Thursday. Zoom was admitted at Armed Forces Veterinary Hospital, Srinagar, on Monday after terrorists shot it twice. It was operated upon as it had a gunshot wound on the face and in the rear right leg.
An officer in Srinagar said, “Our Army dog Zoom, who was under treatment at 54 Armed Force Veterinary Hospital, died around 12 noon. Apparently, it was improving and responding well and looked fine till around 11.45 when it suddenly started gasping and soon collapsed.”
Zoom was tasked with clearing the house where terrorists were hiding. The dog went inside the house and attacked the militants. During the operation, the canine was shot twice and suffered critical injuries. The dog, however, continued his task, which resulted in the killing of two terrorists.
Indian Army condoled the passing away of its canine. The Northern Command in its tweet message said, “Army Commander Northern Command condoles the death of Assault Dog ‘Zoom’. Injured in line of duty in operation at Tangpawa #Ananatnag, he finally breathed his last on October 13. A real hero in service to the #Nation.”
Zoom, a Melanois or Belgian Shepherd was born in September 2020 and joined the Army’s 28 Army Dog Unit and had a service of eight months with him. The Army has 32 units out of which there are 19 dog units serving in the Northern Command. Each canine unit has 24 dogs of different specialties.
The Army Dogs are trained at the Dog Training Facility based at Remount Veterinary College, Meerut. The dogs are imparted skills in obedience and advanced training in specialist tasks like assault, patrolling, guarding, tracking, avalanche rescue operation, sniffing (explosive and mine detection).