Oketz training exercise leads to canine death
The dog, Maya, attacked her handler during an exercise simulating a confrontation with a terrorist, forcing a trainer to kick the dog, accidentally killing it; IDF investigation clears trainer of any wrongdoing and calls use of force 'appropriate given the circumstances.'
In a highly irregular series of events, this incident marks the third death of a unit canine since February, with one dog dying from gastric torsion and another from cardiac arrest.
The unit's dogs are considered fighters in every sense. Soldiers train them and go into combat with them devotedly and following the end of the soldier's IDF service, they adopt their dog. Should a dog be killed in the line of duty, they receive an honorable military burial.
Following an investigation into the animal's death, it was determined that during an exercise simulating a confrontation with a terrorist, the dog attacked the trainer, biting him, forcing the soldier to kick the dog, which led to its death.
The trainer who kicked the dog was a unit veteran who had trained hundreds of dogs. He ultimately was not punished and found to have acted appropriately given the circumstances.
Despite that, other soldiers claim the trainer acted with excessive force. "He should have been gentler with her. There are other ways to force the dog to calm down," claimed a soldier in the unit.
"Of course the dogs in Oketz are attack dogs and need to know how to deal with terrorists in the field. The problem is that not all the dogs get into that mindset immediately. They need to be trained and in my opinion, he should have been more cautious."
In response to the incident, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit commented, "The Oketz unit puts its four-legged fighters at the center. The intensive training of the unit's dogs is conducted by professional trainers in order to simulate conditions on the battlefield. The event is unusual in which a dog attacked one of the soldiers and endangered his life.
"In response, a trainer used appropriate force given the circumstance. Under the unfortunate circumstances, the soldier acted the best he could. The event was investigated by unit commanders and accordingly, lessons were learned."
