Mine Detection Dogs Booster and Emily: a Lifesaving Story

In honor of Emily, in 2016 CHAMPS Connecticut donated and named Mine Detection Dog Emily.  Like her namesake, Emily is true hero!

Story from the Marshall Legacy Institute

In August 2020, two new Mine Detection Dogs started working with Marshall Legacy Institute’s (MLI) partner MAG in Bosnia Herzegovina. MDDs Booster and Emily were donated in 2016 by Orbital ATK (now part of Northrop Grumman) and the CHAMPS Connecticut campaign. After completing training, they worked with their handlers in Orahovica Jug, a mountainous area in north-central Bosnia Herzegovina. The village of Orahovica Jug has suffered severe damage from flooding (top right photo), which poses serious risks to people’s safety as landmines are unearthed and moved.

After months of work with handlers and manual demining teams, Orahovica Jug was declared mine free and released to the local community this fall. Thanks to the work of MDDs Booster and Emily, nearby villages and local authorities will now have safe access to install flood prevention barriers, arable land can be used for agricultural development, livestock can graze on large meadow areas, and people can enter the forest to collect wood without the fear of mines.

The work of hero dogs like Booster and Emily saves lives of many thousands of men, women, children, and other animals.