An Autobiography of a Police dog
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I was born in Mumbai in 1993. My mother told me that I was a through-bred Labrador. My little master called me ‘Shonu’ and the name stuck. I was adjudged the most intelligent out of a litter of three pups. My mother was proud of me, but her proudest moment was yet to come.
When I was hardly three months old, my master’s friend, a police officer, adopted me. His intension was to train me for the Dog Squad. My little Master Firoze was broken-hearted. With eyes full of tears, he gave me a send-off to Pune, where I would undergo training for about nine months. Thereafter it was a life of hard work and responsibility.
Early in the morning a policeman would take me for a brisk walk. Then he took me to a park where a trainer was waiting. He taught me to obey simple commands like ‘Sit’, ‘Stand’, ‘Shake hand’, ‘Run’. Then I went through rigorous exercises and I had to run in circles, crawl, jump, chase, catch, etc. At the end of the training session each day, I would become ‘dog tired’ as people say.
The most difficult part of my training was to recognize smells. I learnt to follow a given scent. They made me smell clothes, bundles, shoes, etc. Sometimes they gave me some bundles which had such foul or pungent odor. My nostrils would burn, yet it was all in the game and I enjoyed my work. I could smell drugs and explosives of all types. I became an expert sniffer dog.
When the training period was over, I was brought to Mumbai and joined the Police Dog Squad. Whenever any investigation had to be done, two special guards would take me to trouble spot and I would do my job to the best of my ability.
I was given special treatment and good food which would keep me strong and healthy. Once I suffered from an ear infection. They promptly called a veterinary doctor and got me treated.
Once I was taken to the site of house collapse to spot two children trapped under the debris. I sniffed and sniffed and went round and round the mound of debris. It was a moment of triumph for me when the children were removed alive, of course, with some minor injuries. On another occasion I was taken on board a ship to detect smuggled goods. Once I was taken to a school to detect a dishonest peon. On the whole, I have had a successful career.
I worked with great zeal for about eight years. Now, I feel my sense of smell is diminishing. I suffer from irritation of the nasal passage. I take long to detect a scent and draw my conclusion. Recently I suffered a long illness. Still they are looking after me and I feel sure that they have to spend a lot of money. Perhaps it is time for me to retire from service. As it is, I am idle for long hours of the day. I feel quite lonely and friendless. I would be happy if I had Firoz for my companion, but alas!