Jacques (dog)
Jacques, an eight year old Benacian Sablehound trained in the detection of contraband and narcotics, was attached to the Canine Unit of the 9th Vanguard Division from 1693 AN until his death in Richmond on 24.XIV.1699 AN. His acute sense of smell, fortitude, and excellent handling characteristics, had served him in good stead when reassigned from internal disciplinary support work to cadaver recovery missions during the Sanaman Civil War. Jacques met his end as a consequence of a booby-trapped corpse rigged with an improvised explosive device and a sensor trigger. The testimony of witnesses that it was the dog's zeal for discovering the corpse which had initiated the device prematurely, saving the life of the dog's handler and the eight-man working party assigned to recovering the bodies of the fallen, resulted in Jacques being named as the first canine Hero of Humanism recognised by the Council of Archons.
A statue in his memory was subsequently erected in Merensk, paid for by public subscription.
