Strong bond between man and dog: Alden and Betsy have been clearing BiH of mines and UXO since 2009

How strong the bond between a man and an animal can be is shown by the relationship of Alden Ćeska, a deminer of the Federal Civil Protection Administration, with 8-year-old German Shepherd Betsy, who since 2009 have been working together to detect landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from the last aggression against BiH, writes the U.S. Department of State Official Blog, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

With the support of the American State Department and the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), an American non-profit organization, Alden trained Betsy, and together they have already searched and cleared more than 560,000 square meters of land of mines, and this land can now be used for livestock farming, agriculture...

After the unprecedented floods in May 2014, Alden and Betsy participated in clearing land of mines that had been moved by the force of the water.

Alden and Betsy are a unique team and quickly manage to search suspicious areas, protecting the local population from mine accidents.

In 2014, MLI awarded them the team of the year award in strong competition with teams from endangered countries around the world.

Since 1999, MLI has donated more than 200 sniffer dogs for mine detection in several countries with active conflicts as well as post-conflict states.

A trained sniffer dog with its handler can search a suspicious area up to 30 times faster than technicians alone. In the past two years alone, these mixed teams have searched over 9,350,000 square meters of mine-affected areas.

The US is the world's leading provider of financial and technical assistance in clearing explosive remnants. Since 1993, more than $2.5 billion in aid has been invested in over 90 countries to reduce the threat of UXO, mines, weapons, and ammunition.

Betsy and Alden are one of many teams who put their lives on the line to protect innocent civilians. Although the day is approaching when Betsy is supposed to "retire", Alden will not part with her because he intends to adopt her. Although they will no longer work together in the field, their contribution so far is immeasurable.