Blinken bonds with Ukraine's famous mine detector dog
STORY: During his visit Blinken toured a children's hospital where he met doctors and the Jack Russell dog Patron and its handler.
Blinken offered Patron a treat and picked him up. Later Blinken was presented with a toy version of Patron described as 'his brother'. Blinken then knelt down and showed Patron the toy version of himself.
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. As of 8 May 2022, Patron has found 236 such devices.
