Zoom. (Photo credit: Indian Army)
Srinagar: Indian Army’s assault dog “Zoom” lost his life days after receiving two gunshots from terrorists hiding in a house in Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir.
Zoom was rushed to Armed Forces Veterinary Hospital in Srinagar on Monday, where he was operated upon.
He had received bullets on the face and rear right leg.
An officer in Srinagar said, "Our Army dog Zoom that was under treatment at 54 AFVH has died around 12 noon. Apparently it was improving and responding well and looked fine till around 1145 when it suddenly started gasping and soon collapsed."
Zoom was tasked with clearing the house where terrorists were hiding in. The dog went inside the house and attacked the militants.
During the operation, the canine was shot twice and suffered critical injuries. The dog, however, continued his task, which resulted in the killing of two terrorists.
Indian Army Condoled the passing away of its canine. The Northern Command it its tweet message said, "Army Commander Northern Command condoles the death of Assault Dog 'Zoom'. Injured in line of duty in operation at Tangpawa #Ananatnag, he finally breathed the last on 13 October 2022. A real hero in service to the #Nation."
Army Assault Canine 'Zoom' laid down his life in the line of duty. He suffered gunshot wounds during Op Tangpawa on 09 Oct 22 where he fought gallantly with terrorists, saving lives of soldiers. His selfless commitment and service to the Nation will be remembered forever. pic.twitter.com/R6i7Cv5WG5
— Chinar Corps🍁 - Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) October 13, 2022
Zoom, a Melanois or Belgian Shepherd was born in September 2020 and joined the Army’s 28 Army Dog Unit (ADU) and had a service of eight months with him.
The Army has 32 units out of which there are 19 dog units serving in the Northern Command. Each canine unit has 24 dogs of different specialties.
The Tangpawa, Anantnag operation was based on intelligence, launched by the joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and Army on Sunday.
The surveillance had helped the forces to reach the target house, but the number of terrorists was not known.
What Indian Army officials say about Zoom?
Zoom was an invaluable member of our team. Despite his young age of 2 years, he was a veteran of multiple counter terrorist operations where he had distinguished himself with his energy and courage. In fact on 9th October during operation in Anantnag, Zoom played a key role.
The assault dog -- Zoom not only identified the location of terrorists but also disabled one of them.
However, he suffered 2 gunshots during the process.
Despite being injured, Zoom located other hiding terrorists & returned back from target area and fainted due to blood loss.
“In Zoom, we've lost a valiant team member who'll inspire us to undertake our task with dedication and courage,” Indian Army Officials.
