Retired sniffer dog dies

It had attended 1,028 calls on duty

Mekala (14), a sniffer dog in the bomb squad of the Coimbatore City Police, died of old age here on Thursday evening. The final rites for the sniffer were performed on the City Police Commissioner’s office campus premises, on Friday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) R.V. Ramya Bharathi placed a wreath.

Special Sub Inspector of Police A. Soundararajan, who is in-charge of the dog squad of the Coimbatore City Police, said that the female fawn colour Labrador born in March 2000 underwent basic training for six months before joining duty with the dog squad here in April 2001. The sniffer was in service for eight-and-a-half years before it was relieved from duty on October 27, 2009.

“During its service it had attended 1,028 calls on duty for checking premises during the visits of VIPs and VVIPs and on special duty at the special court here for hearing bomb blast cases when trial was under way. In addition to Coimbatore, the dog had been deputed on special duty in other districts as well,” he said.

Prizes won In addition to its duties as a bomb detector, the dog had also won as many as 20 cups (for beauty, obedience and breed quality), in dog shows organised by the kennel clubs in Chennai, Coimbatore, Ooty, Madurai and other places.

Dog squad At present the dog squad of the Coimbatore City Police has seven sniffers. It includes three for assisting detection in crime cases, three for the bomb squad and one for detecting drugs and narcotic substances.