NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The heroic army dog Zoom, who kept fighting despite sustaining two gunshot wounds in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir this week, died on Thursday. The two-year-old Belgian shepherd died after undergoing surgery for his wounds.
Zoom’s unconditional determination to continue his task despite his grave injuries resulted in the death of two terrorists, and it has also earned him great praise on social media.
A Twitter account called Lest We Forget India, a handle that “remembers heroes, past and present, who never made it back … for flag and nation”, also paid tribute to Zoom. “Farewell Zoom. Thank you for your service, Canine. Indian Brave, Zoom, 28 Army Dog Unit, made the supreme sacrifice today, 13 October 2022 in Srinagar,” the caption read.
Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan also tweeted a tribute to Zoom. “Careful. Here is a hero. India Army canine soldier named “Zoom” was confronting terrorists despite being shot twice in a CT operation in Anantnag,” he said.
Another referred to another army dog, Axel, who died in service in July this year. Axel died during an anti-terror operation but not before pinpointing the location of a holed-up terrorist and thereby protecting a mosque in the vicinity. The terrorist, who was later identified as Kupwara-resident Akhtar Hussain Bhatt, was killed by security forces after an eight-hour-long gunfight in the Wanigam Bala area of Kreeri in Baramulla district.
(Manas Dasgupta)