 Patron sitting next to his Golden Paw Award awarded by theIrish Kennel Club, June 2022. | |
| Breed | Jack Russell Terrier |
|---|---|
| Born | (2019-07-20)July 20, 2019 (age 6) Chernihiv,Ukraine |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Employer | State Emergency Service of Ukraine |
| Owner | Mykhailo Iliev |
| Named after | Ukrainian word forbullet cartridge |
| Awards | .svg) Order for Courage, Third Class. |
Patron (Ukrainian:Патрон,pronounced[pɐˈtrɔn]ⓘ,lit. 'cartridge'), mostly known asPes Patron (Ukrainian:Пес Патрон,lit. 'Patron the Dog', born 20 July 2019[1]), is aJack Russell Terrier[2] employed as adetection dog and mascot for theState Emergency Service of Ukraine.[3][4]
Patron first came to prominence during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, during which Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy awarded him theOrder for Courage for his work in locating and defusingunexploded ordnance left behind byRussian troops.[5] As of 8 May 2022, Patron has found 236 such devices.[6]
Patron was born on 20 July 2019. He was purchased as a puppy by Mykhailo "Misha" Iliev (born c. 1990), abomb disposal technician fromChernihiv who has worked with theState Emergency Service of Ukraine since 2014. Iliev, who later became Patron's exclusivehandler, originally intended to give the puppy to his son as a pet but soon began training Patron as adetection dog instead.[7]
AfterRussia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Patron and Iliev began working to neutralizeunexploded Russianbombs andland mines in and around Iliev's home city ofChernihiv. Patron became a celebrity after the State Emergency Service posted a video of him onFacebook on 19 March 2022.[8][citation needed] The video, in which Patron can be seen sniffing around debris and sitting in Iliev's lap while wearing a smallbulletproof vest personalized with his name inCyrillic letters,went viral, garnering over 267,000 views and 16,000reactions.[8] On the same day, the UkrainianMinistry of Culture and Information Policy's Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security reposted the video onTwitter, where it has received more than 877,000 views, 27,000likes, and 6,500retweets since 19 July 2022. In addition to his help in demining efforts, Patron has been actively involved in charity work, making visits to patients at theOkhmatdyt Children's Hospital inKyiv.[citation needed]
Patron was seen alive in a video posted to Facebook by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on December 31, 2024, who was addressing rumors spreading online that Patron haddied.[9]
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Due to his viral fame, dangerous work, and charity appearances, Patron has been described as an "unexpected social media weapon" for Ukraine.[10] On 1 September 2022,Ukrposhta began selling charity stamps featuring Patron to raise money for animal shelters and a demining vehicle.[11] By late December 2024 this stamp had fetched about $500,000; of which 80% was spent onmine-clearing equipment, and the rest onanimal shelters.[12]
According to experts, the growth of Patron's popularity can be part of the Ukrainian information strategy during Russia's invasion.[13][14] They noted that the use ofviral videos with dramatic stories help contribute to forming the desired narrative regarding the war while in Patron's case, it has the added benefit of raising awareness of the problem of mine-clearing inde-occupied territories of Ukraine.[15][16][17]
On 5 May 2022,Minister of Internal AffairsDenys Monastyrsky announced the creation of the International Coordination Center for Humanitarian Demining, with Patron as itsmascot.[18][19] Four days later, Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, accompanied by Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau, jointly honored Patron and Iliev with theOrder for Courage, Third Class, thanking them for their service to Ukraine.[20][21]
On 27 May 2022, Patron was awarded thePalm Dog Award for "DogManitarian Work" at the2022 Cannes Film Festival.[22]
To mark the celebration ofWorld Children's Day, on 20 November 2022,UNICEF signed a memorandum of understanding with Patron's representatives to recognize Patron as the "Goodwill AmbassaDOG" in Ukraine.[23]
In January 2023, a PatronYouTube channel was opened with ananimated version of Patron starring.[24] The cartoons, with English and Polish subtitles, were produced withUSAID support and in partnership with UNICEF.[24]
Популярность Патрона выросла настолько, что журналисты New York Times даже предположили, что это спланированная кампания со стороны украинской пропаганды
| External video | |
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 Zelenskiy awards medal to bomb-sniffing dog. YouTube video (0:45). 9 May 2022 |
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