Dzhulbars, a Soviet war dog, became famous in history for detecting thousands of explosives during World War II.
Soviet mine detection dogs (also referred to as sniffer dogs) combed more than 9,000 square miles of land and discovered more than four million enemy charges and land mines during and after the Second World War. Unlike metal detectors, the dogs were able to sniff out bombs not only in metal casings but also in wooden casings, and they were able to find those at a depth of almost five feet. Dzhulbars was one of those sniffer dogs. He was said to have been gifted with an incredible sense of smell for detecting explosives. Between September 1944 to August 1945 he was credited for finding 7,468 mines and 150 shells, having saved many lives and many architectural masterpieces including castles and cathedrals in Kiev, Prague and Vienna.
On March 21, 1945 Dzhulbars was awarded the Soviet Medal for Battle Merit, the only Soviet dog to be awarded a full military decoration for his service in WWII. On June 24, 1945 Dzhulbars and other war dogs participated in the Moscow Victory Parade, the longest and largest military parade ever held on Red Square. Dzhulbars was recovering from injuries and unable to walk in the procession so it was ordered that the wounded dog be carried across Red Square cradled in Stalin's own military overcoat.
After the war, the big-name Dzhulbars starred in the Soviet movie adaptation of Jack London's White Fang.