New Delhi: Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh will be host to India’s first war memorial for service animals including dogs, horses and mules. This place will dedicate itself to the contributions and heroics of animals who have helped the army in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and in the battlefield during the Kargil War.

The memorial, claimed by officials to be similar to the National Warn Memorial in Delhi, will come up at the army’s specialized breeding, rearing and training centre for animals: the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College in Meerut, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.

Granite tablets with names and service numbers of more than 300 dogs, 350 handlers and a few horses’ mules will be inscribed at the memorial. The preliminary design of the memorial and the land has already been identified.

Mansi, a Labrador, who was awarded army’s highest honour for dogs due to her role in the counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir in 2016, tops the list of animals to be remembered, said the report. Her handler, Bashir Ahmed War, will also adorn the tablet.

The army has more than 100 dogs, 5000 mules and 1500 horses.