An Iranian Soldier Lost A Leg While Saving A Dog

Muhammad says he loves animals. And he turned his words into facts when he went to save a dog  that was trapped in a barbed wire fence in a minefield. His action cost a leg. But he doesn’t regret it.

The story of the soldier who loves animals

“I would do it again,” says Mohammad, nicknamed Bakhtar, who is 19 years old. The young man lives in Iran, a country convulsed by several conflicts. It’s also a place where different human interpretations of Islam make dogs less highly regarded.

But his heroic act of saving a dog provoked, at least for a moment, a truce between different political and religious positions. And maybe it opens a little hope for the furry ones to start being better accepted.

Muhammad was carrying out his military service at the time of the accident. It still had a year to go. 

Learn how the young Iranian risked his life to save a dog

Source: www.clarin.com

Bakthar was on guard on a cold night when he suddenly heard some moans. Soon, he found that he had a small dog tangled up in a barbed wire fence that bordered a land mine field.

Without thinking, the young man went to help the little animal. But  in order to release the animal, he had to support one of his legs on a part of the minefield.

The dog ran away as soon as he was free. However, Muhammad’s luck had already been cast. A few seconds later,  there was an explosion that shattered one of his lower extremities.

Bakhtar’s story went viral on social media and reached other media

The soldier was urgently transported to a hospital in the city of Tabriz, located in the northwest region of the country. But  the doctors couldn’t do anything to save his leg and had to amputate it.

Soon his story went viral on social networks, especially on Twitter and Telegram. And it also reached newspapers and television.

Thus, the institution where he was found was invaded by journalists, employees and common people who wanted to thank him for his attitude.

For a moment, it didn’t seem to matter that Bakhtar was a Sunni, a religious minority in Iran, a country where Shi’ism predominates.   

An action that made religious and political differences forget

Many people were also concerned about the young man’s future  and asked to be given some kind of assistance to secure his future.

In this regard, Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, in addition to congratulating him and considering him a source of pride for all the inhabitants, offered him a job in an organization under his responsibility, the Organization for the Protection of the Environment. 

The young man considered the proposal as a “greatly dreamed of opportunity”. Hopefully, it can contribute to the dogs beginning to have a greater acceptance in a society governed mainly by Islamic rules.

For a better future for Muhammad and the dogs of the Islamic world

On his return to Marivan, where he resides, in the Kurdistan region, the boy was greeted by a crowd  with posters of thanks and many flowers.

Bakhtar said that as a child he lived in a small village and had had a dog. And who always loved nature. But when he moved to the city, to attend high school and work, it was no longer possible to have the company of a pet.

Perhaps life, the one that takes things away from us, but which also knows how to give back, now offers him the possibility of being happy with a good job and surrounded by the animals he loves so much.

Source of the second image: www.clarin.com