Diesel (dog)

Diesel was a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois RAID assault dog employed by the French police.

Working career

Diesel had worked for the RAID unit for five of his seven years, and was the first RAID dog killed on duty. He was due to retire the next spring. On 18 November 2015, Diesel was killed in a shootout with suspected terrorists in the Saint-Denis area of Paris, while searching for suspects involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks. During the raid, which was in response to the November 2015 Paris attacks, the dog had been sent in to clear rooms following a cessation of gunfire from the suspects. The first room was empty, but after he entered a second room, the gunfire started once more. He died of multiple gunshot wounds. Following the raid, some media reports claimed that Diesel had been killed by a female suicide bomber. This was later shown to have been incorrect as there was no female bomber. Diesel "was saluted for his bravery by the Paris police chiefs who told Le Parisien[...] that dog almost certainly saved his handler’s life during the raid."

Legacy

Tributes to Diesel on social media were extensive, under the hashtags #JeSuisDiesel or #JeSuisChien. Shortly after Diesel's death, the Russian interior ministry sent a replacement puppy Dobrynya (named after the bogatyr, Dobrynya Nikitich) as a sign of solidarity with France.

On 28 December, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom, announced that Diesel was to be posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery. It is considered to be the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and it will be the 68th time that the medal has been awarded.