On a mission: Frankie, one of the five tracker dogs assigned to work in the search operation, with a rescuer, sniffing for clues. — Bernama
CHUKAI: Four dogs from the Fire and Rescue Department’s (JBPM) K9 tracker dog unit, namely Denti, Frankie, Grouse and Lady, are back in action in the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the victims of the water surge tragedy in Jeram Air Putih here.
The unit’s head, Lacey Elizabeth Stanley, said all four dogs belonging to the department were impressive during the two days of their involvement in the operation.
“Tip-top. Ten out of ten,” she said briefly when asked about the cute heroes’ performance, Bernama reported. Also participating in this operation is Sarkar from the K9 unit of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) based in Bukit Aman in the federal capital.
No stranger to Malaysians, these five agile heroes once captured the hearts of the public when they were involved in the SAR operation of the landslide tragedy at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite, Batang Kali, Selangor, in December last year, in which 31 people lost their lives.
A few months after that, Denti and Frankie, who had been in service for six years, were flown to Turkiye for 14 days to help with the special SAR operation in the aftermath of the earthquake in the republic in early February that claimed some 50,000 lives.
Equipped with comprehensive and continuous training with their respective handlers, Lacey was satisfied with the performance shown by each dog in this mission.
However, Lacey said it is the handlers’ responsibility to be sensitive to the condition of the animals, especially from their health aspects, even though the four K9 dogs have not shown any signs of burnout while involved in the operation to locate the 10 missing victims.
“Throughout the operation, we have to always look at their condition. The handlers can’t go all out like other teams because when working with these dogs, our work and rest time follow theirs.
“If any signs of fatigue are seen in these dogs, the handlers must immediately rest them from any work or task,” she added.
Meanwhile, Sarkar’s handler, L/Kpl Jonvi Moris, said he always has to be sensitive to the health condition of his German Shepherd, which he described as hyperactive. After four years of handling Sarkar, he said he could read the aggressiveness of the five-year-old when in action.
“Sarkar is very hyperactive. If he hasn’t fainted, you can say that he will force himself to work and continue working even if he shows signs of fatigue. That’s not good for his health, especially since he has been prone to heatstroke.
“So, when his tongue hangs out longer and longer, his saliva starts foaming a lot, and his walking is not very good, I will immediately rest him. Otherwise, he will continue to work,” he said.
Although it has not found any victim’s body, Sarkar, who was assigned to make detections on the banks of the river in Sectors A and B (of the search area), still plays an important role as a facilitator in the SAR operation.
“As the handler, every indicator that Sarkar gives is very accurate and helpful in this search,” he said, adding that another K9 dog from the Pahang contingent police headquarters would be joining too.
On the fourth day of the operation, two of the 10 victims of the water surge tragedy in Jeram Air Putih have yet to be found.
