From Ajaxi and Thunder to Quarmy and Bhim: A look at the dogs who give their all to protect humans

A man trapped under the debris of a landslide was rescued on Wednesday, after a CRPF dog, named Ajaxi, who accompanied a bomb disposal squad, alerted the force along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, an officer said .

This was one of the many incidents where canines saved human lives. Starting from the police department to the army and even in the Parliament, canines have a major role to play in ensuring our safety. Like security personnel, these dogs also work to secure the country and its people. Further, they also go through rigorous training.

Ajaxi begin to sound an alert upon reaching milestone 147, that falls in Ramban district, Jammu-based CRPF PRO Ashish Kumar Jha said. Following the cue from the dog, the troops began searching and found the man trapped in the debris of the landslide which had occurred the previous night.

Many such dogs save human lives in different ways everyday. One such canine was Thunder. As reported by The Hindu , he worked with the Kerala Police. Thunder was a Labrador, who completed training in 2009 from the Kerala Police Academy and was the pride of the force. He sniffed out explosives from many places from Kollam district, where he was posted. The Kerala Police on Monday bid adieu to Thunder after he died due to age-related problems.

Quarmy, a female German Shephard and one of India’s top-three sniffer dogs, has hogged the limelight by winning a special prize for her role in helping the forest department officials of Assam to track down various wildlife-related crimes there, noted The New Indian Express .

Not only in India but these animals have earned enough reputations internationally also. One of the noted achievements of these canines in recent times was when one of them accompanied the US Navy Seal team that killed Osama bin Laden.

As reported by the Hindustan Times , ‘Khoj’, a dog from the same breed as that of the one which helped the US Navy Seal team will soon be joining the Central Industrial Security Fource (CISF) to protect the Delhi Metro. A Belgian Malinois, he will be the first one from the breed to join the service.

“A Belgian Malinois can walk up to 25 to 30 kilometres continuously. Their assault and biting power also makes them far better than their competitors. Also, they are the best at multitasking. So far, in more than 250 cases our dogs have helped us detect an ambush, IEDs, suspects or weapons. More than 170 of these were Belgian Malinois”, said deputy inspector-general, CRPF, Moses Dhinakaran, who is in charge of the dog training institute in Bengaluru, while talking to Hindustan Times.

The Kornool Police on Monday had to say its final goodbye to another such talented canine named Diana. She had played a major role in disposal of country-made bombs and detecting contraband, said trainer Venkappa. She died after a brief illness.

The responsibility of the security in the Parliament lies with Bhim and six other dogs. He is a graduate and lives quite a lavish life in air-conditioned accommodation in Delhi’s Lutyens'.

The dog squad was formed to overlook the security of the Parliament after the 13 December, 2001, terror attack. The dogs in charge of the security of the Parliament are trained at the National Training Centre of Dogs, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, a facility that comes under the Border Security Force.

“All our dogs undergo a six month intensive course and become graduates of NCTD. The handlers too undergo this training. If the dog or its handler fails the exam, they have to go through the course all over again,” said Sandeep Mittal, joint secretary of parliamentary security, while speaking to Hindustan Times .