Man's best friend - and colleague: The service dogs of the Police K-9 Unit
SINGAPORE: While many were visiting family or enjoying a intermission from work during the Chinese New year's day weekend, a grouping of Singapore Police force Force (SPF) officers and their canine colleagues from the Constabulary G-9 Unit were hard at work, patrolling public spaces to continue Singapore safe.
One of them was 29-year-old Staff Sergeant (SSG) Seah Zhen Yao and his three-year-onetime police patrol domestic dog, Dux. They were on the nighttime shift on the 2d day of Chinese New Year. Until 6am on Lord's day (Feb 18), the duo patrolled crowded public areas such as Geylang, Little India and the former St James Power Station. Their job: To keep public club, specially at the nightclub hotspots where scuffles are common.
He cut a commanding figure with his pert ears and police domestic dog harness.
Commencement MAJOR SEARCH Job
SSG Seah was first assigned to Dux when the dog was 16 months old. "When I started treatment Dux, he was a 'green tag' dog – meaning he was not trained in anything," said SSG Seah, who has been in the service for ix years.
"He was a mischievous boy. He was trying to bite everything and everyone. But afterward, after he was handed to me, we started to bond. Sometimes, he all the same shows a niggling aggressiveness to others, but not me."
SSG Seah recalled the beginning major tracking task that the duo took on last July, which was to observe an elderly human who had gone missing for four days while picking durians in a forested area near Kranji Expressway.
"We started with 2 dog teams; it was a very hot morning," he said. "When nosotros reached the place, we realised that it was a very, very large forested area. We didn't take any specific expanse to search, and then we just trusted our dogs and see what they could pick up."
Although Dux was trained to choice upwardly any olfactory property or trail of human tracks, it was challenging as the trace would have faded after four days. "He was quite agile at start. But later on the long search, I could encounter him asking: Where is my ball (reward)? Why do I keep searching, but there is no reward?" said SSG Seah with a chuckle.
The elderly homo was eventually found past police officers at the western cease of the forested area, injured, but conscious.
Said SSG Seah: "Dux is very playful. At that place is a saying: Working with animals tin be meliorate than working with human beings.
"Sometimes during deployment, I will feel lonely, merely so I accept someone to talk to. At other times, he volition bring me joy. When you have a really bad day, you can laugh at his silly (antics). He will cheer y'all upwards a niggling!"
THE Near DOGGED Unit of measurement IN THE SPF
Dogs take been used in the Singapore Police Force since 1911, when an Airedale Terrier was used to rails downward prison escapees. The Law K-9 Unit of measurement now spans more than 250 service dogs.
"These dogs are pre-selected past our dog trainers, who get overseas to select them before they are sent to Singapore," said Senior Staff Sergeant (SSS) Ong Zhi Yong, a para-vet with the K-9 Unit. The dogs are mainly brought in from the Great britain, Holland and Communist china. When they are effectually sixteen months to two years of age, the dogs are assigned to an experienced law canis familiaris handler to get-go their service grooming.
Dogs bigger in build such as German and Kingdom of belgium Shepherds are trained as patrol or security dogs and accept diverse capabilities, such as searching buildings or tracking.
The Spaniels and Labradors are often trained equally explosive or narcotics detection dogs, equally they are smaller in size and more than nimble. "Nearly of the dogs have just one vocation while in service," said SSS Ong. "Nosotros don't want to mix up the baby-sit dogs and the narcotics or explosive (detection) dogs, every bit they have different commands and deportment."
The service dogs piece of work until the age of seven before they retire and are put upward for adoption.
Prefer A RETIRED SERVICE Dog
While Dux has several more years till he is due for retirement, the SPF currently has several dogs that are looking for a new home.
Will these police dogs remain ambitious and violent while in retirement? "I would say not really. They are trained simply to act (ambitious) upon command," said Ong. "I accept been working with the K-nine Unit for 7 years and I feel that the bigger working dogs are easier to railroad train and more fun."
Last year, dog handlers from the SPF and Singapore Ceremonious Defence's K-9 units and the Singapore Armed Forces' Military Working Dog Unit who live in public housing were allowed for the first time to adopt their retired canine friends under an expansion of Project ADORE.
To date, 11 of the 15 SPF officers who previously expressed interest in adopting retired dogs accept washed and so. The other four officers are waiting for their service dogs to retire, said the SPF. It added that have been no complaints from neighbours of police dogs adopted.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/adopt-service-dogs-of-the-singapore-police-k9-unit-214726
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