Police dog gets bravery medal

2006-11-10 14:28

Pretoria - The police need more dogs for the 2009 general elections and the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Deputy National Police Commissioner Mala Singh said on Friday.

Singh asked the public to donate dogs to help double the number of canine crime fighters.

Specialised police services like police dogs played a critical role in policing, Singh said at a ceremony at the SAPS Roodeplaat Dog Training School outside Pretoria.

She was speaking at a ceremony where four Star of Bravery (canine and equestrian) medals were awarded to police dogs.

Of the four, only Bobbie, a dog of handler Inspector Lappies Labuschagne, was still alive to receive the medal.

Earlier this year Bobbie was used when a man assaulted police officers with a spade and stabbed several of them with a sharp object.

"Bobbie took the man down and held him down until we could restrain him," Labuschagne said.

It was only afterwards that they found that Bobbie had sustained a skull fracture because he had been beaten over the head with the spade.

A veterinarian in Vryburg where the incident took place told Labuschagne that it was not possible to help Bobbie, but police veterinarians at Roodeplaat managed to save him and after three weeks he was back on the beat.

"You know you want to cry with anger and frustration, these dogs are there to help people, and he is my partner," said Labuschagne.

The police currently have around 1 000 dogs and their handlers stationed across South Africa and they hope to double that in the next few years.

Dogs needed include Border Collies, German and Belgian Shepherds, Boxers, Dobermanns, Labradors, Bloodhounds and even Cocker Spaniels.

The dogs would be trained to be used in narcotics, explosives, protected species detection, tracking, fire investigation and search and rescue operations.

The police were looking for dogs between the ages of nine months and three years.

Dogs that did not make the grade would be given to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and not sold at auctions had been previously the case.

Members of the public who want to donate dogs can contact the police between 08:00 and 15:00 weekdays on 012-808-8644.

- SAPA