Russia Sends France Puppy In Solidarity

Russia Sends France Puppy In Solidarity



Russia has sent a puppy to France in a show of solidarity against terrorism, following the attacks in Paris.

The puppy - named Dobrynya - is intended to replace French police dog Diesel, who was killed during an anti-terrorism raid in Paris in the days after the attacks.

There were 130 people killed and hundreds more injured in the attacks on various venues in Paris on 13 November.

In a letter posted on the ministry's Facebook page, the Russian minister for internal affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsez wrote to his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve, offering the young canine as "confirmation of our solidarity with the French police in these troubled days".

Dobrynya was the maternal uncle and tutor of Russian leader Vladimir the Great and was later a hero and knight in Russian folklore, known as "the personification of strength, kindness, bravery and selflessness".

The puppy has big shoes to fill.

Paris police chief Jean-Michel Fauvergue told French newspaper Le Parisien that the seven-year-old "probably saved the lives of policemen who were about to enter".

Diesel's death - after being sent into an apartment to check the threat inside - prompted an outpouring of grief on social media.

Tributes took the hashtag #JeSuisDiesel or #JeSuisChien.

http://news.sky.com/story/1591635/russia-sends-fra...