Thai man prevents disaster after dog mistakes bomb for toy
A pet dog mistook a bomb for a toy, brought it back to her family home in the Isaan province of Udon Thani, and gave it to a four year old boy. Fortunately, the boy showed it to his father before it could explode and cause a tragedy.
Officers from Non Sung Police Station were called to investigate the bomb at a house in the Non Sung sub-district, Mueang district, Udon Thani, yesterday, December 2. The two-storey house belonged to 34 year old Sergeant Major First Class Jittakorn Talaengjit.
Jittakorn led police officers to the bomb in his house. For safety, he placed it in a cardboard box filled with dry grass, which he surrounded with car tyres. The device was roughly the size of a tennis ball.
An officer from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit later arrived and carefully collected the bomb for safe disposal away from the community.
The EOD officer reported that the device was a homemade bomb, suspected to have been crafted by a group of teenagers in the area. These teenagers often carried such bombs to use during clashes with their other gang rivals. In this instance, it is suspected that a gang may have discarded the bomb by the roadside when being searched by the police.
According to the officer, while the bomb was not as powerful as military-grade explosives, it was still capable of causing fatalities. The public was warned not to attempt to destroy such devices without specialist assistance.
When asked how the bomb ended up in his home, Jittakorn revealed that his four year old son, Krit, had been playing outside the house and brought the bomb to him, asking what it was.
The sight of the bomb in his son’s hands shocked Jittakorn, who immediately took it from the boy. Krit told his father that their nine year old pet dog, Latte, brought the object to him.
Jittakorn said he could not blame Latte, a Labrador and Golden Retriever mix, as she adored playing with balls and likely thought the bomb was a new toy for Krit. Fortunately, Krit had not thrown the bomb.
