Role of dogs in armed forces and adoption process

Hello aspirants

This post is dedicated to all the dog lovers out there. We all know how loyal and intelligent a dog is and how training is done for operations in the army.

We will see about various aspects in this post, I assure you of fun going through this post.

1. When were dogs inducted in armed forces?

• Indian Army has always been seeking help from dogs. Army dogs were inducted into service for the first time in the middle of 1959.
• The first batch of trained dogs did exemplary well, so they were inducted on a large scale at a later stage.
• A war dog training school was raised on March 1, 1960, at Meerut.

2. Breed of dogs favourable

• They are mainly foreign breeds like German Shepherds, Labradors, Belgian Shepherds and Great Swiss Mountain.
• Now the army is inducting indigenous dog breed known as the Mudhol Hound.
• The Mudhol Hound belongs to the family of sighthounds, meaning that it depends on its keen sense of sight to hunt and chase prey.
• This hound is a lean dog with long legs can run swiftly and sniff suspected items, with its speed and swiftness as well as size it can be a good guard dog.

3. About Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC)

• Dedicated service of the army, i.e. Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Center and College imparts Basic and advance training to dogs, and their trainers on specific jobs were put up.
• The dogs are trained for explosive detection, mine detection, tracking, guarding and assaulting.
• The Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) is one of the oldest services of the Indian Army,  motto 'Pashu Seva Asmakam Dharm'.
• RVC is entrusted with the responsibility to procure, enrol, train and deploy Army dogs.
• After training dog are placed in one of the numerous categories such as tracker dogs, guard dogs, infantry patrol dogs, mine detective dogs, explosive detective dogs, avalanche rescue dogs and so on.
• There are around 1200 trained dogs in India at present.

4. The role assigned to trained dogs
   

• These trained dogs are deployed in various operational functions in J&K, Northeast as well as LOC.
• They provide security to VIPs and guard vital defence installations.
• Many of the elite Army dog units have excelled in a large number of operational missions.
• Numerous dogs along with their handlers have even received awards like Shaurya Chakras, Sena Medals and Chief of the Army Staff's commendation cards in recognition of their exceptional performance.
• As Indian Army’s 36 Labradors and German Shepherds walked down Raj Path during the Republic Day Parade without missing a step.

5. Post service and adoption
   

• The dogs of the Indian Army work till the age of 8 or 9. After that, the dogs of the Indian Army are given an honourable retirement.
• Indian Army earlier used to euthanasizes (Mercy Kill) Military Dogs after their retirement from active military service.
• There was a massive outcry over this when it was revealed through the RTI Act.
• After a public outcry, this move was taken back except for those cases where the canine is suffering from an incurable disease.
• Now the retired Army Dogs can be adopted after their retirement where they are kept at Meerut Cantonment for rehabilitation.
• At Rehabilitation Centres, these Dogs had little to no scope for physical activities and hence many people especially dog-lovers are carrying the message to adopt a military Dog and take home a national hero.
• There is a screening process by the Remount and Veterinary Corps of Indian Army for the adoption of former Indian Army dogs