Mine clearing dog Zira-Yankee flies back to the US having served for six years

German shepherd, Zira-Yankee who was stationed in the island for six years and aided in mine-detecting with the Sri Lanka Army, bade farewell to Sri Lanka having cleared over 62,680 square meters of heavily mine-infested land area in the  North.

Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) of the Army on  April 30 bade farewell to Zira-Yankee during a fond farewell on the eve of the dog's departure back to the United States.

Zira's  departure was gratefully acknowledged on Sunday (April 30) at the Chief Field Engineer’s Headquarters at Mattegoda during a brief formal meeting after she was officially delivered back to  Kimberly Mc Casland of the US-based Marshal Legacy Institute (MLI) by Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, Colonel Commandant, SLE in the presence of her affectionate handler, Corporal Rajapaksha who burst into tears as his service companion was taking leave of him after 6 years of intimate acquaintance, a statement on the Army website said.

Joining back home with the MLI in the US, Zira-Yankee, has been selected to spearhead another world-wide promotional campaign in the US on ‘Global Landmine Issue’, expected to be launched shortly by the MLI.

Born on 5 June 2009 in the US, Zira-Yankee arrived in Sri Lanka on 24 June 2011 and underwent training until  December 12, 2011 before she joined the Army's de-mining teams on duty in mine-in fested areas. She had been of much assistance to the project and always stood by her handler, despite tropical climatic conditions and other concerns.

During the brief farewell meeting at Mattegoda, Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, Colonel Commandant, SLE appreciated the challenging roles of the departing dog and the support, being extended by the MLI towards the task of Army de-mining in Sri Lanka. MLI has been in the practice of sending dogs of high breed to the Sri Lanka Army for training in de-mining for the last couple of years.