Rescued children pay tribute to sniffer dog Wilson, the hero Belgian Shepherd who helped save them after surviving a horrific plane crash in the Colombian Amazon a month ago.
Unfortunately, Wilson is still missing in the Colombian jungle.
Wilson was featured in the drawings of the four Indigenous children as they recovered from a military hospital in Bogotá.
The Colombian Armed Forces released the drawings, who are still searching for the lost Belgian Shepherd.
Wilson was a huge help in leading rescuers to the location of the missing children.
Con un dibujo entregado a nuestro Comandante @fuerzasmilcol los niños encontrados recordaron el inmenso esfuerzo de nuestros soldados y de nuestro #AmigoDe4Patas Wilson 🐕.#OperaciónEsperanza @HOMILCOL #PatriaHonorLealtad pic.twitter.com/F6DzIzD3xf
— Ejército Nacional de Colombia (@COL_EJERCITO) June 12, 2023
One of the siblings, Lesly, a 13-year-old, signed one drawing that shows Wilson between trees and a river.
Lesly was also credited with keeping her siblings alive with the knowledge of the jungle.
Nine-year-old Soleiny signed the second drawing, which shows the Belgian Shepherd next to a large flower, the sun, and the Colombian flag.
Last May 1, the children aged 11 months, 4, 9, and 13 years old were traveling in a light aircraft when the Cessna 206's engine allegedly failed.
The children were found in the jungle 40 days after the plane crash, which killed three adults, including their mother.
According to the report, the children told the rescuers that for a period of time, they were accompanied by a large dog.
It is believed that the large dog they were saying was Wilson, who was last seen a day before the children were rescued.
In an interview with the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, dog handler Carlos Villegas said they saw Wilson a good distance away before he ran off.
“We saw him about 40 meters away and we tried to call him… My companion drew close to him, he tried to play with him in order to grab him, but Wilson ran off,” Villegas recounted.
Wilson was one of the ten sniffer dogs deployed during the search and rescue operation.
#Wilson🐶 Los soldados continúan la operación para encontrar a nuestro #AmigoDe4Patas
La búsqueda no ha finalizado. Nuestra premisa: Ninguno se queda atrás.#PatriaHonorLealtad#OperaciónEsperanza>>https://t.co/J90B883N6r pic.twitter.com/6hVFwuG7IK
— Ejército Nacional de Colombia (@COL_EJERCITO) June 12, 2023
According to reports, Wilson might have experienced a dangerous encounter with a predator or might've become confused in the strange environment.
Gen. Pedro Sánchez of the Colombian military said, “According to what the children told us, we can confirm that Wilson, our commando, was with them, quite emaciated and without much to eat out there in the jungle… But our faith remains intact and we are still looking for him.”
