On 31 December 2024, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service had to do something unusual: post a video proving their most famous employee wasn’t dead. A death hoax about Patron, the Jack Russell terrier who has spent three years sniffing out Russian landmines, had spread far enough online that officials stepped in to kill it. Patron is very much alive. On 20 July 2026, he turns 7.
Who is Patron, Ukraine’s most famous mine-sniffing dog
A Jack Russell terrier has become the canine face of hope in war-torn Ukraine. Trained to detect even the faintest traces of unexploded ordnance, Patron is the ultimate mine-sniffing hero. His keen sense of smell has thwarted threats before they can cause harm, and aside from mine sniffing, he’s also trained in search and rescue, and tracking.
Patron was adopted by Mykhailo Iliev, who works with Ukraine State Emergency Service (SES), and his wife Iryna. Patron became a social media celebrity when a video of him working in his bulletproof vest (personalized with his name in Cyrillic letters), went viral.
Patron visits schools in mine-affected areas of Ukraine to raise awareness in kids about the risks of landmines and how to stay safe. His team educates students on how to identify and report explosive devices.
These educational programs help children learn about the dangers of landmines and how to protect themselves from it. It not only keeps them safe in the short-term, but also helps to reduce the risk of accidents in the future.
Patron and his handlers also work to clear minefields in the area and make it safe for the local community. Their work has a direct impact on the lives of children by giving them access to safe spaces to play and learn.
See also: How dogs are leading the war against terror
Keeping Ukraine safe: how Patron helps professionals demine the country
Ukraine emergency services, SES, reports that a significant area of the nation is infested with landmines. Explosives are placed in many places, like forests, roads, hospitals, homes, and playgrounds. To keep people safe, rescuers teach people how to be safe around mines and shells. They are aided by Patron, who sniffs for bombs and mines, as they do their job.
Patron has helped find over 300 explosive objects by sniffing and alerting his team. On Children’s day last year, Patron became the first dog in history to receive the title of Goodwill Dog from UNICEF. The ‘Learning Together’ campaign released an augmented reality (AR) development – an Instagram mask with Patron the Dog. Virtual Patron supports students who study from their homes, and provides them with advice and tips on their homework every day.
The honors: a presidential medal and a Cannes collar
On 27 May 2022, Patron was awarded the Palm Dog award for “DogManitarian Work” at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
A cartoon called “Patron Dog” was released on YouTube on January, 2023 with English and Polish subtitles.
In May 2024, PBS’s Nature series featured Patron in “Saving the Animals of Ukraine” (Season 42), following Iliev through the training and the growing symbolism around the dog. That’s separate from the animated “Patron the Dog” series above, a scripted cartoon rather than a documentary.
A Ukrainian hero, Patron’s role in raising awareness about the landmines not only keeps children safe, but also helps to build a safer future for the community. His social media channels help raise funds for charity work like supporting hospital in Kyiv.
Why Patron’s job still isn’t finished in 2026
An estimated fifth of Ukraine’s territory still carries landmines or unexploded ordnance, in forests, roads, hospitals, homes, and playgrounds. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) canine units as a whole logged 711 explosives found and 812 rescue and demining deployments by April 2025, a program-wide figure covering all its dogs, not Patron’s individual count, which hasn’t been reported separately since 2023. Patron himself showed up at an International Mine Awareness Day event in 2025 and remains an active SES mascot in the Chernihiv region. By late 2024, the Ukrposhta charity stamp featuring him, on sale since September 2022, had raised roughly $500,000: 80 percent went to demining equipment, the rest to animal shelters.
What it takes to train a dog like Patron
The training process for a bomb-sniffing dog is rigorous and intense. It takes several months for a dog to be ready for field work. The training includes learning to detect a wide range of explosives, including TNT, C-4, and even homemade bombs. The dogs help secure public events, check vehicles at border crossings and also conduct sweeps of buildings, and open spaces.
The dogs get paired with a handler who works with them on a daily basis taking care of the dog’s care, training, and deployment. The handler and dog work as a team, with the latter using its sense of smell to locate explosives and the handler providing guidance and direction.
Patron is just a dog who loves cheese and is amazingly good at his job. Who knows how many lives were saved because they missed the mines that Patron detected and cleared…an absolute legend! May the dreaded war end soon and good boys like Patron stay safe from harm’s way, for they care not for politics, prizes or propaganda.
Three years into a war that was supposed to be over in weeks, Patron is still working, still finding what’s left behind, still very much alive. Happy early birthday, good boy.