Meet Patron, Canine Saint of Ukraine

All hail Patron, the intrepid Jack Russell terrier saving lives in war-torn Ukraine. The two-and-a-half-year old works for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES), sniffing out explosives left behind by Russian soldiers in the Chernihiv region, north of Kyiv.

“News from Patron!” SES announced in March. “Our militant dog – the mascot of Chernihiv pyrotechnicians continues to serve! Since the beginning of the war, he and SES sappers have cleared almost 90 explosive devices. Thank you, my friend, for your tireless work !”

Since that introduction Patron has helped sappers (demolition specialists) find and neutralize hundreds of explosives. And now that the very good dog is a darling of social media, artists from all over the world have created and shared images of the Jack Russell in action. We will see this guy’s life (saving) story in film one day and commemorated on a postage stamp.

Patron reportedly likes cheese and belly rubs, as do we all.

Watch him do his thing here: youtube.com/watch?v=jMPDGHIcf2E.

Photo credit: Twitter.com