Kent, an Indian Army Dog, Dies Fighting The Brave Battle (image: Parveen Kaswan, IFS)

Kent, an Indian Army dog, a six-year-old female Labrador of the 21 Army Dog Unit, died while serving in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir”s Rajouri district. “She was serving in ongoing Operation Sujaligala and was at the forefront”.

“Kent was leading a column of soldiers pursuing fleeing terrorists. It was shot dead by hostile fire,” a defence official said.

The canine soldier was killed Tuesday while attempting to save her handler in the search operation. Kent, trained as a tracker dog, was part of eight operations over five years.

To commemorate the memory of the dog who laid down her life shielding the soldier, the Indian Army shared the video of brave Kent on duty guiding the soldiers in a mock search operation.

The news of Kent”s death evoked an outpouring of messages on social media saluting her bravery and sacrifice. A handle named Lest We Forget India put a post on Kent”s passing on X (formerly Twitter), and on another post, they wrote, “Farewell Brave Canine Warrior KENT – Salute to your service and selfless supreme sacrifice,” and shared a video where soldiers paying final respects to her.

Meanwhile, one terrorists and one Army soldier were killed in a gunfire in the Narllah region of the Rajouri district. “One terrorist and an Army soldier were killed while three security personnel – two Army jawans and one special police officer – were injured in the gunfight,” Mukesh Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone, said.