Diesel had worked for the RAID unit for five years, and was the first RAID dog killed on duty. She was due to retire in spring 2016. She was killed in a shootout with suspected terrorists while searching for suspects involved in the Paris attacks. During the raid, Diesel had been sent in to clear rooms following an end of gunfire from the suspects. The first room was empty, but after she entered a second room, the gunfire started once more. She died of multiple gunshot wounds. Following the raid, some media reports claimed that Diesel had been killed by a female suicide bomber. This was later shown to have been incorrect as there was no female bomber. Diesel was saluted for her bravery by the Paris police chiefs who told Le Parisien that she almost certainly saved her handler's life during the raid. Tributes on social media were extensive, under the hashtags #JeSuisDiesel or #JeSuisChien. Shortly after her death, the Russian interior ministry sent a replacement puppy Dobrynya, which was named after the bogatyr, Dobrynya Nikitich, as a sign of solidarity with France. On December 28, 2015, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom, announced that Diesel was to be posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery. It's considered to be the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and it will be the 68th time that the medal has been awarded.
Diesel had worked for the RAID unit for five years, and was the first RAID dog killed on duty. She was due to retire in spring 2016. She was killed in a shootout with suspected terrorists while searching for suspects involved in the Paris attacks. During the raid, Diesel had been sent in to clear rooms following an end of gunfire from the suspects. The first room was empty, but after she entered a second room, the gunfire started once more. She died of multiple gunshot wounds. Following the raid, some media reports claimed that Diesel had been killed by a female suicide bomber. This was later shown to have been incorrect as there was no female bomber. Diesel was saluted for her bravery by the Paris police chiefs who told Le Parisien that she almost certainly saved her handler's life during the raid. Tributes on social media were extensive, under the hashtags #JeSuisDiesel or #JeSuisChien. Shortly after her death, the Russian interior ministry sent a replacement puppy Dobrynya, which was named after the bogatyr, Dobrynya Nikitich, as a sign of solidarity with France. On December 28, 2015, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom, announced that Diesel was to be posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery. It's considered to be the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and it will be the 68th time that the medal has been awarded.
