Military dog 'Dalgwan' finds a missing girl in Cheongju

“I figured Joeun Nuri was nearby when Dalgwan who was leading the way sat down and made the ‘report’ gesture,” said Sergeant Major Park Sang-jin of the 32nd Division of the Army, who found and rescued a 14-year-old girl after 10 days of missing at a hill in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

“We let military dogs play with a ball or give snacks when they finish a mission, but we had to head back right away because the situation was urgent that day,” Park said Sunday. “I complimented Dalgwan and gave him a massage after transferring Miss Jo to emergency medical services.”

Military dog Dalgwan who found traces of Jo is hailed as a hero. Seven-year-old male shepherd Dalgwan is a reconnaissance dog with a number (13-****), whose main duty is finding people in a broad area. Dalgwan was stationed and met Park in November 2013.

“Dalgwan has had intensive training for four hours every day except for weekends,” said Park. “He carried out reconnaissance missions in the Cheonan and Asan region on May 27 and 28 in 2016.” Dalgwan weighs 38 kilograms on average, eats 700 grams of food a day and trains with soldiers for walking, free·area searches and mountain searches of opposing forces.

Even though Dalgwan became a hero by finding Jo, he was once a runaway dog. Back on Feb. 28, 2014, Dalgwan tore off wire mesh of a military truck to run away on the Jungbu Highway on the way to receive supplementary training at the military dog training center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province and was captured on the next day at a mountain near the Jeungpyeong Interchange.

Jo is hospitalized at the Chungbuk National University Hospital and said to be recovering fast. “Her kidney function weakened due to dehydration has recovered to normal. She eats thin rice gruel and porridge now,” said an insider of the hospital. Jo is projected to leave the hospital as early as this week. Cheongju Police currently investigating Jo’s case will look into how she got lost as soon as she recovers.


Jang-Ki Woo straw825@donga.com