Service dog goes viral for refusing to jump into water at Army Games

The Internet sensation, Aquadog The Dog. — Photo courtesy of People’s Army Newspaper

HÀ NỘI — A service dog in the Vietnamese team competing at the International Army Games 2020 in Moscow has gone viral online for refusing to jump into a cold water tank during a competition for dogs and their handlers.

The video was captured last week during the “True Friend” competition that required dogs and their handlers to overcome several challenges including hurdling, jumping over a 1.8m-high wall, balance beam, swimming in the tank simulating a shallow river, and crawling underneath an armoured tank.

The dog, named Aquadog, didn’t have any difficulty until the water tank. While its handler got onto the approaching bridge and jumped into the water, the dog didn’t join him. Instead, the Belgian Malinois ran to wait for its handler by the way down.

Netizens assumed the dog has gotten used to the high temperatures in Việt Nam so he didn’t want to get into cold water as the temperature in Moscow on that day was about 12 degrees Celsius.

Few day after refusing to jump onto cold water tank, Aquadog has completed all the challenges at a relay race with a surprising speed of 50kph. — Photo courtesy of People’s Army Newspaper

A few days later, at a relay race within the “True Friend” competition, Aquadog pulled another surprise by completing all the challenges at a surprising speed of 50kph. With this result, the Vietnamese service dog team placed 4th out of eight teams.

The first prize went to the Russian and Uzbekistani teams. The Belarusian and Algerian teams won second and third prizes, respectively. — VNS