R.I.P. Major: Mine-Sniffing Labrador That Saved 200 Lives Passes Away
There was no mine too elusive or too deadly for the expert nose of British-born Major Kipper-Ridge, a friendly, devoted Black Labrador who was put down two days ago after serving 15 years in Lebanon and Somalia. Speaking to The Telegraph, Major’s friend and owner, John Dingley, a senior technical for the United Nations Mine Service, remembered Major as “extremely friendly and loyal,” and described Major’s working life as “nothing short of extraordinary.”
He detected 67 hazardous and elusive Pakistani P4 anti-personnel mines and located over 100 UXO or unexploded ordnance mines and 17 anti-tank mines. In 2006, at the height of the Israeli conflict, Major located 53 deadly cluster bombs in Lebanon. Dingley reckons that over 200 lives were saved by Major’s courageous heart and keen nose.
A friendly, well-bred dog “with a tremendous sense of fun,” Major began his training in Birmingham, England, at the Karenswood Dog Academy. His first assignment was a UN mission in Hargeisa, Somalia. Dingley recalls one night when Major was deployed with the Dutch Demining Group in northwest Somalia. According to Dingley, Major “rarely disgraced himself" but did on one occasion drink a pint of King George Ethiopian Beer, which left him hungover and out of work for two days.
John Dingley and Major eventually relocated to Laos, where they joined other retired Westerners. Major enjoyed playing in the Mekong River there and even met a young “local girl” and started a family. While most working dogs are not house-trained, Dingley attributed Major’s gentle nature to his early life as a family pet.
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