Imagine an army that can easily afford state-of-the-art aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. An army with a massive budget and global reach. Now imagine that the same institution euthanized nearly 1,200 of its own military working dogs between 2002 and 2019.
This shocking picture emerged from an article on British military practices that became the spark for our story today back in 2018. Reports revealed by the media were merciless – between 2013 and 2019 alone, 380 K9 dogs were put down, and in 2009 alone, 125 animals lost their lives. We are talking about dogs that jumped from planes with special forces operators, rappelled from helicopters, neutralized threats, detected explosives, and pulled wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
Most shockingly, four of the euthanized dogs had previously been awarded the Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration. The reasons for euthanasia provided by the army? Officially, they were classified as "too dangerous to adopt," "old and worn out," or simply "not meeting standards." The scale of the phenomenon was so great that even SAS soldiers themselves began to openly protest against treating animals like worn-out equipment, calling these procedures an absolute tragedy.
These brutal reports from abroad raised a very important question in our own country: what happens to Polish special forces dogs when they retire after their service?
Relevant questions were asked at the Polish GROM Military Unit, where a dog named Denzel was finishing his service at the time. He had a reputation for being dangerous, but despite systemic concerns and the alleged lack of adoption possibilities, he did not share the fate of his British counterparts. Denzel was the first military dog in Poland to enjoy a fully civilian retirement after his service. He proved that caring for four-legged veterans after such experiences is possible and paved the way for subsequent K9 veterans in our country.
Recently, we had the great honor of contributing our artisan effort to this story in our workshop. We completed an order commemorating this breakthrough moment – a raw, tactical diorama, one unique piece of which went to Denzel’s handler, with the rest going to the training center in Czerwony Bór.
The scene depicts two operators in full gear. One is aiming a carbine with a suppressor attached, while the other stands ready with a heavy battering ram. Beside them stands a sculpted military dog in a tactical harness. We set the entire action inside the ruined corner of a brick building. At the back of the wall, there is a realistic breach and scattered rubble. A key element of this memento is located at the very front of the diorama – a copper plate embedded in the bricks with the clear name "DENZEL". We finished the whole piece with hand-painting that imitates heavy, patinated metal, which gives the figures an appropriate, military weight.
This is an extraordinary project for us. We are starting from scratch, building up this small workshop, but knowing that our "Gromiki" are becoming a physical tribute to these four-legged veterans gives us a massive boost for further work.
