The dogs of the Indian Army work till the age of 8 or 9. Thereafter the dogs of the Indian Army are given an honourable retirement.

No matter how much gratitude we show towards Indian Army’s brave people but it will always fall short in front their bravery and gallantry. It is not just the brave men and women who help in guarding the nation, Indian Army’s K9 soldiers have shown bravely as well. The dogs of the Indian Army work till the age of 8 or 9. Thereafter the dogs of the Indian Army are given an honourable retirement and shifted to this old home for dogs.

However, earlier this was not the scenario. After a lot of efforts put in by People For Animal’s chief Meneka Gandhi, the euthanasia process of the animal who served in the Indian Army was dismissed in 2016. This resulted in the army coming up with homes of the old dogs. As of now, there are two old homes for the ex-Indian Army retired dogs. There is one in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh while the other is in Uttarakhand’s small town of Hempur.

The power of social media took the front seat recently when a Facebook user shared an image of the old home for dogs from Meerut. Facebook user Anita Deshpande, post where she urged everyone to adopt the retired Indian Army dogs. Her post went viral and gathered more than 3000 shares. In the Facebook post, she writes, “I wonder how many of you are aware of this. Once an army dog gets old ( 8 – 9 yrs) he/ she is given an honourable retirement and shifted to this old home for dogs at RVC centre Meerut where they remain for the rest of their lives. All the dogs here are also available for adoption by dog lovers free of cost. Though they are old ( 8 +) they are highly trained and most of them (at least those who are below 10) are extremely fit and sprightly. They are adopted both by individuals and by units as guard dogs. Some of these dogs have even been awarded a COAS commendation.”

Earlier, as per a 2016 report in Hindustan Times quoted Akshay Gupta, founder, PET FED, India’s biggest pet carnival on the adoption of the retired army dogs. Gupta was quoted saying that military dogs cannot be legally adopted by civilians. He also said that their adoption only happens through proper army protocol and not via other agencies.

Speaking to FE, Gauri Mulekhi from People For Animal (PFA), India’s largest animal rights organization, said that there is absolutely no harm in adopting retired Indian Army dogs. She strongly voiced her opinion and urged people to adopt dogs who were once a part of Indian Army. “Rather than euthanising the dogs who have served in the Indian Army, we salute the effort put in by the defence ministry giving a life to them,” said Gauri Mulekhi from PFA.

However, before all the dogs’ lovers pack their bags to adopt one a retired Indian Army dog, there are a lot of things to keep in mind. Mulekhi points out that there is a screening process by the Indian Army Remount and Veterinary Corps of Indian Army in place for the adoption of former Indian Army dogs’ adoption.