“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.” Words spoken by Herbert Hoover could not ring truer today. We note the 90th day of the Russo-Ukrainian war and the horrors that continue to commence daily, with little to no negotiations taking place. However, we’ve seen quite a few bits of heroism and hope push through the rubble and I bring you one such tale today.

Ukrainian forces have come across a dog who’d been left behind by Russian soldiers after they’d retreated from one of the villages. The pup, named Max, has taken a liking to the soldiers, becoming a part of their team. Let’s dive into the details!

More info: Facebook

A beautiful service dog was left behind by Russian forces as they retreated from a village during its liberation by Ukrainian soldiers

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ

Amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois dog was left behind by Russian soldiers as they retreated from one of the villages of the Nikolaev region during its liberation. Now, the pup is being trained by Ukrainian soldiers to assist them in the war effort.

There were some speculations that the soldiers found the dog near starvation in the battlefield, surviving on rotten scraps, however, we found no credible source or point of reference for that narrative. However, the story, as told by those who’ve been in contact with the dog, is quite wholesome.

It is believed that the dog was frightened off by the ongoing war effort and ran away along with others

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ

The National Guard of Ukraine shared the story on their official Facebook page, stating: “From now on, the Mykolaiv National Guards have a trophy dog with the nickname ‘Max’.”

“The shepherd belonged to the occupiers of the Rosgvardiya, who captured one of the villages of the Nikolaev region. During the liberation of the territory they were crushed by Ukrainian defenders and several service animals fled the district. One of the families took in Max.”

It managed to find its way to the village and one local woman, after giving him food, decided to provide it shelter, alongside her own German Shepherd

The family in question came into contact with Max when the pup wandered into their village to find some food. Valentyna Dowbush offered him a meal and later he just jumped over the fence and stayed in her yard. “He ran up to the fence and looked into the yard. I carried a saucepan of food to him and then he jumped over the fence, ran up to me and went to the kitchen behind me. That’s how he stayed,” said Valentyna.

He made friends with the family’s own German Shepherd, called Seema, and lived with her for a little bit of time. When the news of a military dog living in the village began spreading, various people started offering Valentyna money for him. The woman said that the offers started with 15K hryvnias (about 500 Euro) but she rejected all of them. She decided to pass on the dog to the Ukrainian army, just in case he could be useful.

After much debate of what to do with the dog, the woman offered him to the Ukrainian forces, hoping he would come in handy

Image credits: suspilne.mykolaiv

The soldiers accepted the dog, giving him a quick inspection upon meeting. Max was wearing a camouflaged collar issued to the Russian hounds with an inscription of “5.45 Defender”, indicating the pup’s origin. The special war dog embroidery on the collar stated that his name was Bucks, but the name Max was chosen by his new owner – the fighter and cynologist “Riddick”.

Riddick told Svidok that he was afraid that the dog would not accept a new owner so soon after the last. “Our acquaintance was very unusual for me. There was fear, because the dog is not so familiar to me. But Max immediately approached me – we immediately found a common language with him,” the soldier said.

He noted that the dog was trained in searching for weapons, ammunition and detention, and was ready for combat. So far, the dog executed commands only in Russian, but he’s quickly learning to respond to Ukrainian commands as well.

The cynologist found a Russian hound collar, indicating his origin, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with the pup himself. He decided to name the dog Max

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ

The pup has since bonded with his new owner, named “Riddick”, who will be teaching the pup Ukrainian commands to search for weapons and ammunition

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ

He has now been redeployed as a minesweeping dog. Dmitry, a member of the National Guard of Ukraine, said: “We are very grateful to the family for deciding to pass on the dog to the Ukrainian military instead of selling it.”

“From now on, Max will serve on the right side, defending Ukraine and nibbling Russian a***s.” His comrade added: “Max has become a real favorite with the guards. We can’t understand why the Russians would leave behind such a lovely animal.”

“From now on, Max will serve on the right side, defending Ukraine and nibbling Russian a***s,” a soldier stated

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ (not the actual photo)

Well, they might not have had a choice, especially if the dogs scattered away in fright. According to Tractive, dogs have the ability to hear sounds between 15 – 50,000 vibrations per second.

For comparison, humans can only pick up sounds between 20 – 20,000 vibrations per second, thus, loud noises could have made the dogs’ fight or flight mode turn on. Thankfully, one of the pups was able to find safety and will be well taken care of.

One other pup, named Patron, has been sniffing out bombs and munitions, even being awarded by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his efforts. Bored Panda has written an article about it and if you’d like to check it out, please click here.

The war is in its 90th day, yet the spirit of the Ukrainian people stands strong with hopes of victory

Image credits: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (not the actual photo)

The war seems to not be stopping any time soon. Peace talks are still in the works, as President Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin was the only Russian official he was willing to meet with to discuss how to end the war. Meanwhile, the first Russian soldier has been sentenced to life in prison for war crimes committed against the Ukrainian people.

More European sanctions against Russia are urged upon by Zelenskyy, calling for a full oil embargo, the severing of Russian banks from the global financial system, the complete isolation of the Russian IT sector and a ban on trade with Russia.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. 6.5M people have been declared refugees, with millions more uprooted from their homes. A soldier by the name “Kipish” recalled the many wars waged by Russia, stating in a Facebook post shared by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “Centuries go by, and they do not change, remaining a horde.”

Since 2015, Kipish has defended Ukraine from Russian aggression in several units. He stated that “it can’t be that two people are fighting and there is no winner. Ukraine will win! For us – all civilized countries. I hope the world understands that it needs to rise now and isolate Russia, before it’s too late.”

We wish Max and his newfound family all the best and hope that he can retire from his duties soon

Image credits: 19 Миколаївський полк охорони громадського порядку НГУ

We continue to observe the ever-changing situation in Ukraine. If you’d like to show your support, you can find the resources to do so here. We wish Max and his newfound family all the best, hoping to hear more updates from them soon.

Let us know what you thought of the story in the comments below and I wish you all a safe day!

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