| Patron | |
| Breed: | Jack Russell Terrier |
| Birth Date: | 20 July 2019 |
| Birth Place: | Chernihiv, Ukraine |
| Nationality: | Ukrainian |
| Owner: | Mykhailo Iliev |
| Namedafter: | Ukrainian word for bullet cartridge |
| Employer: | State Emergency Service of Ukraine |
| Awards: | Order for Courage, Third Class. |
Patron (Ukrainian: Патрон, pronounced as /uk/; ; born 20 July 2019[1]) is a detection dog and mascot for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. He is a Jack Russell Terrier.[2]
Patron first came to prominence during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, during which Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded him the Order for Courage for his work in locating and defusing unexploded ordnance left behind by Russian troops.[3] As of 8 May 2022, Patron has found 236 such devices.
Patron was born on 20 July 2019. He was purchased as a puppy by Mykhailo "Misha" Iliev (born c. 1990), a bomb disposal technician from Chernihiv who has worked with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine since 2014. Iliev, who later became Patron's exclusive handler, originally intended to give the puppy to his son as a pet but soon began training Patron as a detection dog instead.[4] After Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Patron and Iliev began working to neutralize unexploded Russian bombs and land mines in and around Iliev's home city of Chernihiv. Patron became a celebrity after the State Emergency Service posted a video of him on Facebook on 19 March 2022.[5] The video, in which Patron can be seen sniffing around debris and sitting in Iliev's lap while wearing a small bulletproof vest personalized with his name in Cyrillic letters, went viral, garnering over 267,000 views and 16,000 reactions.
On the same day, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy's Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security reposted the video on Twitter, where it has received more than 877,000 views, 27,000 likes, and 6,500 retweets 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 the in Kyiv.
Due to his viral fame, dangerous work, and charity appearances, Patron has been described as an "unexpected social media weapon" for Ukraine.[6] On 1 September 2022, Ukrposhta began selling charity stamps featuring Patron to raise money for animal shelters and a demining vehicle.[7]
According to experts, the growth of Patron's popularity can be part of the Ukrainian information strategy during Russia's invasion (and Ukrainian propaganda as a whole).[8] [9] They noted that the use of viral 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 in de-occupied territories of Ukraine.[10] [11] [12]
On 5 May 2022, Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky announced the creation of the International Coordination Center for Humanitarian Demining, with Patron as its mascot. Four days later, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accompanied by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, jointly honored Patron and Iliev with the Order for Courage, Third Class, thanking them for their service to Ukraine.[13] [14]
On 27 May 2022, Patron was awarded the Palm Dog Award for "DogManitarian Work" at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[15]
To mark the celebration of World 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.[16]
In January 2023, a Patron YouTube channel was opened with an animated version of Patron starring. The cartoons, with English and Polish subtitles, were produced with USAID support and in partnership with UNICEF.[17]