Heroic army dogs set to be put down saved by social media campaign

The Army’s sniffer dogs have been saved thanks to 11th hour Twitter intervention

Heroic army dogs set to be put down saved by social media campaign

Twitter as a force for good: A concept…

Heroic army dogs set to be put down saved by social media campaign

The Army’s sniffer dogs have been saved thanks to 11th hour Twitter intervention

Yes, we know. Whenever we do our articles about Twitter reactions, debates, or shade throwing, we are unbearably sarcastic. However, today we’re seeing the social media tool play its part in saving the lives of two heroic army dogs.

Kevin and Dazz are two Belgian Shepherds who served in the British Army. They were deployed to Afghanistan, where they would sniff out IED’s and potential bombs on the roadside before the forces could make their way forward. Truly, they are the goodest of good boys.

Army dogs on death row

However, once they had come to the end of their national service, they faced a struggle to be re-homed. They were facing a terribly sad situation where, after saving so many lives, they were to be rewarded with the loss of their own.

Up steps Twitter. The news made it on to the social media platform, and spread like wildfire. Pretty soon, heavyweights of entertainment shared the news with their millions of followers. Most notably, animal activist Ricky Gervais pleaded with the internet to help save Kevin and Dazz:

Andy McNab leads the petition

Former British Soldier and author of Bravo Two Zero – Andy McNab – began an online petition to help find the dogs a new ‘leash’ on life. Within the week, the protest movement had collecting a whopping 360,000 signatures.

McNab paid tribute to the two canines. He said that we “owe them every chance possible to be re-homed. These animals save thousands of lives sniffing out explosives”

And don’t ever say that online activism doesn’t work, guys…

We love a happy ending. There’s been no confirmation of where the dogs will end up, but they no doubt short of offers following their viral campaign. We wish Kevin, Dazz and additional service dog Driver all the best in their retirement.

Also read: Heroic Mandela Bay Police Dog honoured by co-workers