In a spectacular display of skills, army dogs enthralled an audience at a show organised by Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in Shimla on Friday.
The dog show, which marked the beginning of the silver jubilee celebrations of ARTRAC, saw Labradors and Retrievers display several skills, including sniffing out explosives and performing a range of drills.
The audience couldn't stop applauding. Children were mesmerized by the stunts performed by man's best friend.
Chief of Staff, ARTRAC, Lieutenant General Raman Dhawan said the dog show was not only about displaying the skills of the trained canines, but also display the connect and the love between a man and a dog.
"First of all, let me tell you, as far as the dogs are concerned, they are an essential part of us. These dogs, while they put up a show over here, but essentially, they are used for guard duty, they are used for patrolling, they are used for mine detection, they are used as tracker dogs (and) they are used as anti-explosive dogs. So that is as far as their involvement in the army is concerned," said Lt. Gen. Dhawan.
The canines, known for their fondness of human company, followed the commands of their trainers diligently and performed their drills flawlessly.
A visitor, Vinod Nawaria, lauded the training of the dogs and the efforts put in by the army personnel for the same.
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"I used to think that the humans are the most intelligent species but after watching this army dog show I realized that an animal too can do so much for the country. The way the dogs were matching steps with soldiers and following their commands it did not feel like they are animals," said Nawaria.
ARTRAC, established in October 1991, will be holding a series of events throughout the year to commemorate the beginning of its silver jubilee celebrations.
The events sought to deepen the relation between civilians and the army and also provide civilians an opportunity to understand the multi-dimensional role played by the forces in war and peace.