If you haven’t heard the news, Yangon’s favorite bomb sniffing K9 officer Sergeant Michael passed away over the Thingyan weekend.
The news was brought to public attention by director Kyi Phyu Shin, who had met the Sergeant on the day that he fell ill. Kyi Phyu Shin uploaded a photo of her with the officer, explaining that she had no idea he was sick at the time, and that he had happily posed for a photo with her in spite of his ailment.
Michael first fell ill on Friday while on patrol for Thingyan, and was consequently taken to a vet. Zaw Ye, the vet who treated Michael, uploaded photos of the K-9 onto Facebook on Friday afternoon with the hopeful message: “Michael, I hope that you will recover soon and be able to continue fulfilling your duties.”
Unfortunately, it seems as though he never recovered and passed away on Saturday night.
Upon news of Michael’s death, thousands of citizens expressed their sorrows on social media. In keeping with Buddhist beliefs, many relayed prayers that the dutiful Michael be reincarnated as a human in his next life.
During his time with the Yangon Bomb Squad, Michael helped locate four bombs and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
He received a proper hero’s send-off on Sunday as his fellow bomb squad members covered his body in flowers and, of course, his bomb squad jacket.
Thank you for your service, Sergeant Michael. We miss you already.
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