Türkiye donates a German Shepherd to Mexico in gratitude for the earthquake relief

Mexico welcomed the young puppy in an official ceremony at Mexico City airport. The country said the gift “shows that humanitarian aid knows no borders”. A number of the unit’s officers stood ready to welcome the new ‘recruit’.

Proteo II, help or friend

The Mexican people vote on the name of the animal. The options are Proteo II, Arkadas – which means “friend” in Turkish – or Yardim, the Turkish word for “help”.

The earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria killed more than 50,000 people. Then relief efforts were launched from around the world. Mexico’s Defense Ministry has sent teams of dogs to help search for survivors still buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Mexico itself is also prone to earthquakes, so the country is training units to use dogs to search for survivors. Among them was Proteo, a 9-year-old German Shepherd. He found a man and a woman in Türkiye who were pulled out of the rubble thanks to him. He died from exhaustion and working in freezing conditions, according to his supervisor.

Proteo was previously given a state funeral in Mexico.