The most recent American war hero finally got the ceremonial praise she deserves as Conan, the Belgian Malinois hailed by US President Donald Trump as being instrumental in the raid that took out ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, was honored at a special ceremony at the White House.
Conan, named after famed late-night comedian Conan O'Brien, was injured during the raid.
Attending the ceremony, Conan stood in front of reporters in the White House Rose Garden alongside Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and first Lady Malania Trump. As Pence gave her a congratulatory pat on the head, the president praised her as a "tough cookie."
"Conan did a fantastic job. And we're very honored to have Conan here, we've given Conan a certificate and an award that we'll put up in the White House," he said, adding: "Conan was very badly hurt ... and they thought maybe was not going to recover, (but) recovered very quickly and has since gone on very important raids."
The president further praised the Delta Force dog's role in the flawless attack.
"Conan came over from the Middle East -- just arrived with some of the great people from the special forces that did the -- it was a flawless attack," the president said, as reported by Fox News. "And al-Baghdadi is gone. That was a flawless attack and I just met quite a few of them. And we just gave Conan a medal and a plaque."
As a member of Delta Force, Conan's identity was originally classified. However, in the wake of the raid, Trump declassified Conan's name and image to the public, and even tweeted a photoshopped image of him awarding her the Medal of Honor.
When asked by reporters if they'd consider adopting the newest national hero, the president and his wife notably declined – a rare decision, as most US presidents have kept dogs in the White House, and indeed all presidents since Woodrow Wilson have done so.