Conan was injured as it helped track down "Islamic State" leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria last month. The dog was honored by the US president, his wife Melania and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. Scott
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US President Donald Trump honored Conan the dog at the White House on Monday with a certificate and an award.
"This is Conan, right now probably the world's most famous dog," said Trump, standing on the steps to the White House garden together with his wife, Melania, and Vice President Mike Pence.
The president said Conan's award would be hung on the wall of the White House.
He described the dog, which is a Belgian Malinois, as the "ultimate fighter," a "tough cookie" and "very special."
The White House tweeted that Conan was "America's hero dog" and was already back at work.
The special forces members who carried out the raid that killed "Islamic State" leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi also met Trump on Monday, but they could not show their faces at a press conference.
The dog's identity had been a closely guarded secret until it was declassified by Trump, who retweeted a picture of the dog after the raid in Syria.
During the raid, Conan chased al-Baghdadi into a dead-end tunnel in his Syrian hideout, where the cornered IS leader detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children, according to the US account.
Conan was injured by the electric cables exposed in the detonation but appeared to have made a full recovery.
Canines in combat
US President Trump has shared an image of the military dog injured in the raid that captured "Islamic State" (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But the unnamed dog is not the first canine in combat to make headlines.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Baumgarten
The White House's 'VERY GOOD' girl
US President Donald Trump tweeted a photograph of the Belgian Malinois who was reportedly injured in the raid which killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria. The dog's name remained classified — naming it would reveal its handler and therefore the US units in action in the raid — but Reuters reported the dog was only slightly injured and is already back to work. Trump said she did a "GREAT JOB."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/White House
Rin Tin Tin, war hero and film star
Dogs have been used in conflict zones for many years. Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd in service in the German army in World War I who was captured by an American soldier and thereafter "defected" to the US forces. Rin Tin Tin made the most of his new life in the US; he went on to have a successful film career in Hollywood in the 1920s.
Image: picture-alliance/Everett Collection
Sergeant Major Jiggs, the US Marines' first mascot
Other dogs in conflict were less hands-on than Rin Tin Tin. Jiggs was an English Bulldog who became the first mascot of the US Marine Corps in 1922. Jiggs quickly climbed through the ranks and became a Sergeant Major within a few years, quite an achievement for a new young recruit. Jiggs was buried with full military honors after his death in 1927.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/BuyEnlarge
Training begins at birth
Most military dogs are trained from birth. In Germany's Bundeswehr, they stay with specialized puppy trainers or handlers until they are old enough to be ready for service. Here the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen holds a puppy being trained for service in the Austrian army.
Image: picture-alliance/picturedesk/H. Punz
'Robby's Law' changed the fate of military dogs
In 2000, US President Bill Clinton signed "Robby's Law" which aimed to make sure that military dogs in the US army were no longer abandoned in conflict zones or euthanized after their service. In Vietnam 2,700 US army dogs were handed over to the South Vietnamese army and 1,600 were euthanized. Now US trainers can adopt army dogs once their service is over — though it was too late for Robby.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Sarkar
German Shepherds — supplied by Germany
Despite their photogenic appearance, not all military dogs are German Shepherds. However, according to the Bark Post, 85% of military dogs in the US are purchased from Germany and the Netherlands after being trained there. The German Shepherd is not the most popular breed; Belgian Malinoises, like the one tweeted by Trump, are more common.
