After a nine-month-long intense training at the Kerala Police Academy, Marly and Berty, two premium pedigree dogs, found new home at Aluva after being inducted into the dog squad of the Ernakulam Rural police on Friday.
Marly is a Belgian Malinois, and Berty, a beagle, which is a much-sought-after pet dog breed.
Belgian Malinois shot into fame after Cairo, a dog of the breed, helped the US Special Forces track down the world’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden in a raid at his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. It was again in the news following the participation of Conan, another US military Belgian Malinois, in the raid that led to the killing of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
This is for the first time that these two breeds are being inducted into K9, as the State police’s dog squad is known, anywhere in the State.
“Their reputation preceded their arrival thanks to their exceptional performance at the academy from where they passed out last week. They will add to the firepower of our dog squad,” said District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K. Karthik.
Marly will add to the investigation prowess of the police in theft and murder cases, whereas Berty’s expertise is in detecting explosives, making her a valuable asset in policing highly sensitive security installations like airports.
The dog squad headquarters of the Ernakulam Rural police at Aluva will be the home of the new members. Both the dogs will have a strict daily routine when they are not roped in for assignments.
“They will be put through two training sessions of one-and-a-half-hours daily during morning and evening. Marly will be fed 400 grams of dry food and half a litre of milk and Berty 200 grams of dry food and half a litre of milk a day,” said police sources.
The dogs will be handled by senior civil police officers Soman P., Siljan V.K., Prabheesh Sankar, and William Varghese. With the new inductees, the dog squad of the Rural police now commands five dogs.
