Warrior dogs: From standing steadfast in line of fire to helping special children

Phantom, the Army’s furry four-legged warrior, who was killed during an anti-terrorist operation in Akhnoor on Monday adds on to a growing list of service dogs who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Kent, Axel, Zoom and Mansi are among names of canines who have fallen to bullets in the past three years while taking part in search operations, house clearing missions or neutralising terrorists, and in the process saved the lives of their fellow soldiers. Some of them have also been decorated for gallantry.

Dogs have been an integral part of the Armed Forces as well as the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and other law enforcement agencies for decades, and a structured programme exists for their breeding, training, deployment and even post-retirement rehabilitation. Not only this, they have been helping out the sick and aiding children with special needs.

Undertaking guard duties, patrolling, assaulting and neutralising suspects, VIP security, sniffing out explosives and mine detecting contraband items, search and rescue, are among the roles they undertake. They have also served overseas with Indian troops.

Dogs, which have been critical to the success of many military operations, are considered as force multipliers. Besides their ability to detect hostile elements, they are able to get into places difficult to access by humans and when equipped with cameras, also provide valuable tactical intelligence. Their relatively smaller size and faster speed make them a difficult target.

In addition, the presence of service dogs has a psychological impact on both soldiers as well as adversaries. For troops they boost morale, provide emotional support and act as stress busters, while their presence can intimidate and deter enemies.

Many forces in India have their own dog breeding and training centres. Every new-born pup is attached to a handler, with whom it bonds and generally stays throughout its service. There is a well-defined training programme having different modules such as tracking, attack, detection, etc.

Training begins with basic obedience when pups are six-months old, and can stretch for up to 10 months depending on the module they are assigned. Dogs tend to specialise in different fields with gentler breeds like Labradors more suited to tracking and detecting while Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds are employed for attack and neutralisation. Some facets of training are common.

The handlers train dogs to develop and hone their intuitive abilities and respond appropriately to voice command and hand signals. A critical element is field-craft, that is how to operate stealthily in combat situations, detect the presence of hidden humans in buildings and undergrowth and react to given scenarios.

Training centres are issued small quantities of explosives, narcotics and samples of wildlife items like bones and fur to help them develop their sniffing acumen. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also developing training aids ‘Target Odour Scent Pads’ to condition dogs to a particular target smell. The pads release pure target odour without the smell of various other items being mixed up as can be in the case of using samples.

As for soldiers, dogs too have a daily routine with fixed timings for training, meals, grooming, exercise and rest. Their ration scales too are scientifically devised and they undergo regular medical examination.

About three years ago, a first of its kind scientific canine study was undertaken by a CAPF board, with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) as the lead agency, which standardised the actual physical parameters, temperament, behavioural characteristics, and phenotypic gene expression of selected working-line breeds of dogs. This will act as a key scientific document to upgrade the cutting-edge of canine wings of all security forces in the country and will herald the mainstreaming of canine activities by bringing all organisations on the same grid.

In fact, the ITBP became the first CAPF in the country to induct and train women dog handlers for undertaking security related duties in counter-insurgency and anti-Naxal environment. The pioneering batch of eight women constables joined in 2022.

Service dogs generally serve for 10-12 years, before age, stress and strain begins to take its toll. Earlier, there was the practice of putting down dogs who were no longer fit, but has now been done away with.

Retired dogs, both in the defence forces and CAPFs, now lead a dignified life in ‘retirement homes’ set up for them in several training centres, where they are authorised 60 per cent of the regular ration scale. People can also adopt them.

They too play a social role by visiting hospitals and care centres for providing therapy and emotional support to recuperating patients as well as children with special needs, like those affected with autism spectrum disorder.

It has been scientifically validated that non-verbal and non-human interaction of special children with trained dogs can improve their demeanor, hand-to-eye coordination and eye contact, besides reducing hyperactivity in some cases. The presence of a canine companion has a soothing effect on children with special needs.

As far as the medical arena is concerned, Army dogs also stepped in to combat COVID-19 when the pandemic had gripped the world in 2020. They were trained to sniff out affected persons through bio-markers in their sweat or urine.

In fact, a study undertaken by the US Army in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 on the use of canines in the fight against COVID-19 and other chemical biological threats revealed that the levels they have been able to detect have been ‘astounding’.

Their services have also been recognised by conferring gallantry awards, some of which have been posthumous. Perhaps the most famous lore is that of a mule named Pedongi, who was decorated belatedly with the Vir Chakra during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was taken captive by the enemy, and put to work to haul their load until it managed to escape a few days later, along with an enemy machine gun, trudging over 20 km to reach an Indian outpost.

Every four-legged warrior who falls in battle is bidden adieu with full military honours. At the Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps Centre in Meerut stands a war memorial dedicated to their memory, the first of its kind in the country.