A dog that was severely injured in eastern Ukraine and required emergency surgery to save its life has been given a new home in Hungary.
Rambo, a three-year-old German shepherd, had accompanied Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the war against Russia.
But Rambo suffered serious injuries to the right side of its head after a rocket attack. Shrapnel from the blast blew away pieces of its skull, damaging its jaw and severely mangling its right ear.
The animal’s life was saved by surgeons and it has since been rehomed with the Budapest police department, in Hungary.
Rambo is now learning how to interact with children, older adults and people with disabilities at police demonstrations and rehabilitation institutions, according to Lieutenant Colonel Maria Stein with the Budapest Metropolitan Police.
She said: “Nowadays, unfortunately, it happens that children mock each other because they wear glasses, because they have braces, because their ears look funny or whatever – because they’re different.
“With Rambo, we might be able to sensitize these children a little and show them that yes, he is injured, he’s different, but he can do the same things as other dogs.”
After its initial surgery, Rambo was taken to safety in western Ukraine. Violetta Kovacs, head of a Hungarian organisation dedicated to rescuing German shepherds, soon collected Rambo and brought it to a rehabilitation center near Budapest.
“The dog needed immediate help,” Ms Kovacs said.
“He had to operate again here in Hungary because several of his teeth were causing him great pain because of the injury, which required immediate intervention.”
Rambo spent eight months at the center, where his jaw was reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed.
He then underwent training to be socialised with other dogs and was adopted by Gyula Desko, a lieutenant colonel with the Budapest Metropolitan Police.
He called Rambo a “very friendly, good-natured dog” who is making good progress in his training and whose survival was “a miracle”.
“Working with him requires more patience and more attention, as we do not know what kind of mental problems his head injury caused him,” he said.
He added that Rambo is “so open with people and accepts them, despite his injuries and the shock that befell him”.
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