Dog drops own ‘bomb’ in K9 test

By: 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines–The test was going smoothly, an eager Labrador circling an abandoned bag. Then the dog looked like it was about to sit—a sign that a bomb was in the bag.

Moments later, the dog did something that made the audience laugh.

The poor creature was unable to hold “it” in and ended up defecating—in the middle of a test to determine its efficiency in sniffing out explosives.

“We ended up halting the evaluation for a moment to clean up the mess because it could contaminate the test area,” said Senior Supt. Jose Mario Espino of the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (Sosia) of the Philippine National Police.

Espino, who heads the security canine and management division of Sosia, was supervising an evaluation test for dogs of security agencies and K9 security providers.

The two-day activity was the first ever test for canines used in security operations, particularly in bomb and explosives detection.

10 flunkers

The exercise was carried out during the weekend at the compound of a security agency in Barangay (village) Buayang Bato, Mandaluyong City.

“This competency evaluation is designed to determine the proficiency and reliability of a K9 team in scent work for explosives or bomb to cover every possible technique or method in explosives detection,” said Chief Supt. Noel Constantino, the Sosia head.

A K9 team that passes the test will be issued a certificate of efficiency, which will serve as a standard for security agencies with K9 services and for specialized K9 security firms.

Out of the 75 K9 teams that took part in the tests—each team is composed of a dog and a handler—10 pairs flunked the test.

Minday and Che-che

“They can ask Sosia for a reevaluation if they deem it necessary,” Espino said in an interview.

Of the 75 teams, two pairs came out with perfect scores in the four stages of the test: a dog named “Minday,” handled by Kenny Gene Vicente of Armadillo Security Professional Agency; and another called “Che-che,” handled by Roy Dumasig of Kaizen Security Agency.

The dog that chose to defecate during the tests was among those that passed, with a score of 50 percent.

Most of the dogs were Labradors and Belgian Malinois, coming from 13 security service providers.

Each pair underwent four stages of evaluation—an open search, baggage search, building or room search and vehicle search.

Time limit

Espino likened the test to a shooting competition, where participants had to clear each stage before progressing to the next.

The dog must detect by sniffing out different bomb parts and explosives—such as TNT, black powder, detonator cord and dynamite.

Adding to the pressure was a five-minute time limit, set by a “proof dog” of the PNP, which searches first for the components as an assurance that the explosives can be detected.

Malls, hotels, schools

As a reward for sniffing out the “prize,” the handler would give his canine ward a toy ball to play with while waiting for the next task.

Espino noted that in some cases, K9 teams deployed in establishments such as malls, hotels and schools lack the proficiency to detect bombs and explosives.

He cited instances wherein the canine sits to indicate a bomb inside a package, only for authorities to find out that the package is completely harmless.

Certificate of efficiency

“We want to do away with that false sense of security. We want to make sure that the deployed K9 teams are very proficient and reliable,” Espino said.

Clients hiring K9 security teams should ask for the Sosia-issued certificate of efficiency as proof that they have passed the standard.

Aside from the certificate, a canine passing the test will be embedded with an identifying microchip to mark it as a qualifying dog.

The evaluation test for security dogs will be done regularly to improve both the dog’s and the handler’s proficiency and communication skills, officials said.

At last weekend’s evaluation, Espino noted that some handlers were not sure or were doubtful of their dogs’ actions in indicating explosives.

“Some dogs were about to sit, a sign that there was a bomb inside, but the handler did not know how to read that and pulled away the dog by his leash. We will have to improve on that,” Espino said.

Originally posted: 9:36 pm | Monday, August 4th, 2014