White House Honors Conan the Military Dog, Trump Signs Ban on Animal Crush Videos

The military working dog who cornered Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during the raid which resulted in the ISIS terror group leader’s death in Syria received a hero’s welcome at the White House on Monday.

Conan, a Belgian Malinois, was injured in an explosion after al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, but has since made a full recovery and returned to active duty. He was in attendance with Special Forces personnel from the raid, which involved no other U.S. casualties.

After awarding the dog a medal and plaque, President Donald Trump praised Conan as “the ultimate fighter, ultimate everything.” Vice President Mike Pence added that “having this extraordinary dog here today is all a reflection of our armed forces and the great job they do.”

Conan’s visit wasn’t the only animal-related news coming out of the White House on Monday: President Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which makes it a federal crime punishable by fines and up to 7 year in prison to engage in animal crushing or otherwise torture animals. It passed both chambers of Congress on voice votes.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credits: The White House via Flickr / Creative Commons)