MONTY THE SNIFFER DOG WHO ATE A TALIBAN BOMB

[schnauzers4us]

Monty the sniffer dog who ate a Taliban bomb!

 

They’re still the bravest dogs in the world but, still, dogs will be dogs. A daring helicopter rescue had to be launched into the heart of the Afghan badlands to save the Army’s top-secret weapon – a springer spaniel called Monty.

 

Monty is an elite sniffer dog, specially trained to find explosives booby traps and hidden guns and munitions but Monty’s nose (and appetite) got him into big trouble when he found a cache of Taliban plastic explosives – and promptly ate it.

He gobbled up almost a kilo of explosive which looks just like putty, before his handler stopped him. Monty was in no danger of exploding as the material needs an electric detonator, but he could have poisoned.

Army dogs are such a premium in Iraq and Afghanistan that a precious helicopter was sent to quickly whisk Monty back to base for successful treatment by a vet. Almost all the dogs serving with Army in combat zones were once abandoned or taken into care by animal charities in the U.K. after cruel treatment by their British owners.

One of the Army’s best sniffer dogs is still nervous around children because it was badly injured by cruel kids in the U.K.

Far from carrying a grudge, the dogs play a vital role. Some of the larger ones are trained as guard dogs, to patrol bases, but most are sniffer dogs trained at the Defence Animal Centre near Melton Mowbray to detect hidden weapons, explosives and deadly roadside bombs.

Last year Sadie, a Labrador, won the Dickin Medal -----“the animal VC”-for detecting a booby-trap bomb hidden behind two feet of concrete within the ‘United Nations’ base in Kabul Afghanistan. When not in action the dogs are housed in air-conditioned kennels and have their own swimming pools.

Most will retire with honour, to live back in Britain with their handlers’ families.

:-D