The fate of five-year-old Max, who has served on two missions in the war-ravaged country sniffing out explosives, has whipped up passions with an online petition to save the "hero dog" gathering nearly 27,000 signatures.
Max risked being sent to a dog shelter or being put down as there is no legal provision in Romania for the government to take over the upkeep of canines once they are off the defence rolls.
An emotive media campaign was headlined "Sent to die by those whose lives he saved," forcing Defence Minister Mircea Dusa to order changes to ensure the government takes over the upkeep of retired military dogs.
Dusa said this should be done by this week.
He also asked parliamentary experts to look into how his ministry could be allocated a budget for this purpose.
In the meantime, Max has been adopted by an animal lover while others donated money to ensure he gets medical treatment.
The dog's medical costs are roughly 150 euros ($180) a month.
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