The Russian government is offering to send a puppy to France in honor of a police dog named “Diesel” that was killed during an anti-terror raid in Paris last week.
Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev wrote a letter to his French counterpart offering to give the puppy to the French police as “a sign of solidarity,” AFP reported.
The Russian Interior Ministry tweeted a photo of the puppy and the letter on Nov. 20.
Diesel was a 7-year-old Belgian Shepherd and was killed sometime during a seven-hour siege on an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, French police tweeted on Wednesday. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader behind the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris last week, was killed during the raid, according to French officials.
Добрыня будет передан французской полиции в знак солидарности… https://t.co/HdQqzky1VH #новости #срочно #важно pic.twitter.com/b7oxLjGJ9P
— Сайт МВД России (@mvd_official) November 20, 2015
Police posted a photo of Diesel on Wednesday and said, “assault and explosives search dogs are indispensable in the missions of the operators of the RAID.”
On social media, the hashtag #JeSuisChien, which means “I am dog,” began trending worldwide on Twitter as people made tributes to Diesel.
The Russian Interior Ministry said in Facebook post that the puppy is named after Russian folk legend Dobrynya Nikitch, “who is the embodiment of the forces of good, military prowess and selfless assistance.”
The dog will have to undergo medical checks and quarantine before he can go to France, AFP reported.
Although still a pup, Dobrynya would hopefully grow up to be an important member of the French anti-terrorist police unit.
