Dogs help retrieve bodies from landslip debris

Maya and Donna are trained in sniffing out bodies and people from under rubble

Maya, a Belgian Malinois, with her trainer. Maya, along with a Labrador Dona, had helped sniff out bodies from the rubble at Pettimudy, Idukki.

They can smell life and death. Maya and Donna, the specially trained police dogs from Kerala Police Academy, Thrissur, were a major support for the rescue force at the difficult terrain at Pettimudy in Idukki, where a massive landslip flattened estate lanes and claimed many lives.

Part of a 35-member squad under training at the police academy, they were taken to the landslip site from Sunday as per the suggestion of State Police Chief Loknath Behera.

While Lilly, alias Maya, a Belgian Malinois, is specially trained in finding bodies under debris, Dona, a Labrador, is trained in finding people trapped under the debris. She can work for five hours without rest, say the dog trainers in the police academy. The 10-month-old Maya traced three bodies from the debris at Pettimudy. They were procured from the training centre of Punjab Police.

The dogs in the academy have also been trained for conducting searches in forests, sniffing out explosives and in combing operations. They are also trained in catching those involved in theft and murder cases.

Eight of the Kerala Police dogs are specially trained in sniffing out drugs. The Kerala Police has 150 dogs in its dog squad. The dogs have a retirement home at the police academy. It has 19 residents now.