A handout image released by the Mexican Foreign Ministry shows rescue dog Proteo of the National Defense Ministry (SEDENA), upon arrival at the airport in Adana, Turkey, on February 8, 2023. AFP
MEXICO CITY — Mexico on Monday paid tribute to a military rescue dog that died while searching for survivors buried under the rubble of the earthquake in Turkey.
Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced the death of the German shepherd called Proteo at President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s daily news conference.
“You accomplished your mission… thank you for your heroic work,” the military said on Twitter.
Proteo was one of more than a dozen rescue dogs dispatched by Mexico along with 130 military personnel following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 37,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
“You were always a strong, hard-working dog who never gave up. I will always remember you,” one rescuer who served alongside Proteo said in a video.
RELATED STORIES