Turkey sends puppy to Mexico after death of rescue dog in quake operation
A soldier holds a German Shepherd puppy named 'Arkadas'.
Turkey on Wednesday gifted a new search puppy to Mexico after their rescue dog died while helping the Mexican Army locate survivors of the February 6 earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria.
The German Shepherd sent by Turkey is just three-month-old and he will now join the famous canine unit of Mexico which specialises in helping the army find survivors in countries that suffernatural disasters like earthquakes.
The furry puppy, who is black and beige in colour and has outsize paws and perky ears, has been given the name 'Arkadas' which means "friend" in the Turkish language based on online voting.
The trainer, who took care of rescue dog Proteo that died during a rescue mission in Turkey, will train Arkadas also, the army stated.
The rescue dogs were deployed by Mexico to Turkey after the nation was hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake near the southern border with Syria which led to the deathof at least 54,000 people in both nations.
The remains of Proteo were sent back to Mexico, where an emotional ceremony was organised in his honour before he was buried. Earlier this year, Mexico had paid homage to the German Shepherd at a military funeral.
Mexico stated that the canine gift of Turkey showed that "humanitarian aid knows no limits or borders".
The ministry, on its Twitter account, also shared a link on which people could track the flight that the puppy boarded for Mexico City from Istanbul. After he arrived at the Mexico City airport, the Ministry of Defence's staff gave a warm welcome to the puppy.
The army welcomed the gifted rescue dog, Arkadas, in a formal ceremony organised at a military base in Mexico City on Wednesday.
The puppy was wearing a padded green harness which featured a tiny Mexican flag. The ceremony was joined by his new human and canine colleagues, who were standing in attention pose.
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The puppy, who seemed excited during the ceremony, barked as the national anthem of Mexico blared out from the speakers.
"Thanks to my friends from Mexico who welcomed me with great affection, I promise to do my best to be a great search and rescue dog," tweeted the Mexican defence ministry on behalf of Arkadas.
The ministry, on its Facebook page, said that it was "waiting with open arms" for the puppy sent by Turkey, stating that it hoped Arkadas would follow the paw steps of Proteo.
(With inputs from agencies)
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