Sashastra Seema Bal Dogs "Pinki" And "Chetan" Honoured On Retirement

A special ceremony was held to honour two dogs of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on their retirement. Pinki and Chetan were members of the 29th Battalion of the Sashastra Seema Bal, deployed in the city of Gaya in Bihar. According to a tweet by Indian Police Service officer Sanjay Kumar, a retirement ceremony was observed for the two dogs before they were adopted by other members of the SSB.

The Sashastra Seema Bal is one of India's Central Armed Police Forces which guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders.

"After serving almost 10 years in SSB, a retirement ceremony observed for two dogs (SSB family members) of #29thbnGaya," wrote IPS officer Sanjay Kumar on Twitter Saturday. He said that Pinki the yellow Labrador retriever had been adopted by Ct Akshay of SHQ Gaya, while Chetan found a home with HC Dev Ratan Singha of the 29th Battalion. 

The retired dogs were seen wearing flower garlands in the pictures shared by Mr Kumar on the microblogging platform:

After serving almost 10 yrs in #SSB a retirement ceremony observed for 02 dogs (SSB family members) of #29thbnGaya.
"Pinki"( ED yellow) adopted by Ct Akshay of SHQ Gaya.
"Chetan"(ED black) adopted by HC Dev Ratan Singha of 29th bn.
Wish them a happy life.@DGSSB @ParveenKaswan pic.twitter.com/vZXEC5cYfF

— Sanjay Kumar IPS (@Sanjay97odisha) June 6, 2020

Many Twitter users took to the comments section to thank the animals for their service and wish them a happy retired life. 

"Enjoy your retired life with your lovely families, Pinki and Chetan. Thank you for your service," wrote one person in the comments section. 

"Lots of blessings and good wishes to the canine friends. Thank you for your selfless and loving service.." said another. 

Many also asked if civilians could adopt service dogs, and were told they could.

Not much procedure. We ensure that the "would be" owner is worth in terms of compassion and love for the new guest. ????

— Sanjay Kumar IPS (@Sanjay97odisha) June 6, 2020

In the past several years, dogs have been inducted into several law enforcement and paramilitary personnel squads as they help to search for drugs and explosives, locating missing people and finding crime scene evidence.