Washington: A U.S. military dog that played a starring role in the raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seemed oblivious to the praise that President Donald Trump heaped on it Monday at the White House.
Conan, a Belgian Malinois, seemed much more interested in the head scratches it was getting from Mike Pence repeatedly looking up at the vice president in search of more attention.
Trump used a slew of adjectives to describe Conan which was injured when it was exposed to electric wires in the late October raid while chasing al-Baghdadi at the terrorist’s compound in northwest Syria.
“So this is Conan, Tough cookie,” Trump said. “Right now, probably the world’s most famous dog.”
"Conan was very badly hurt ... and they thought maybe was not going to recover, but recovered very quickly and has since gone on very important raids," Trump said, adding that Conan was not retiring and is in prime time age-wise.
Trump said he bestowed a medal on Conan and presented the dog with a plaque. First lady Melania Trump stood a few feet away.
The president said initially Conan was going to be muzzled for the appearance, but Trump said he thought that would put the dog in attack mode.
At one point during the interaction, Trump said Conan has been trained to turn on reporters who asked questions. "It's trained that if you open your mouths, you will be attacked. You want to be very, very careful," the President said.
“He's not in a bad mood today. So you’re safe,” Trump told.
“Conan is a real hero,” Pence said patting the dog on the head.
Conan had accompanied the US special forces during the raid and played an instrumental role in locating and tracking al-Baghdadi at his compound in Syria's Idlib province. He is said to have chased al-Baghdadi through a tunnel at his compound, following which the terrorist killed himself by detonating a suicide vest.
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