After catching over 200 rats since 2023, a Brooklyn dog named Luna received an honorary citation from Brooklyn Councilman Chi Ossé, reported the New York Post.
On their nightly walks together in Crown Heights, Luna’s owner, Zachary Henson, has witnessed her hunting abilities throughout the week.
“She is like the Terminator,” said Henson, a 39-year-old cybersecurity engineer and former Green Beret. “She just single-mindedly goes after them.”
Luna is a seven-year-old, 31-pound Schnauzer-mix. Her breed is in the terrier family, a group known for their rat-hunting abilities.
Luna’s recognition comes amidst a notable increase in NYC’s rat infestation. There were 41,748 rat and vermin complaints to the city’s 311 hotline in 2023. These complaints have increased by nearly 8% since Mayor Eric Adams took office in 2022, the paper said.
Adams himself has even been ticketed five times for rat infestations at his Bed-Stuy property, which is in Brooklyn’s rodent-filled Rat Mitigation Zone (RMZ).
Henson has ensured that Luna is safe in her rat-hunting endeavors. The dog is vaccinated against Leptospirosis, a rat-borne illness. She also kills the rats by shaking them, and therefore does not break their skin.
