Man's best friend in the service of the law: a dog inspector talks about Novgorod police dogs

Today, the canine service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia celebrates its 116th anniversary. A serving canine handler not only trains dogs, but also carries out all further joint work with them - from searching for prohibited substances to detentions and searching for people. In an exclusive interview with the online newspaper "Novgorod", an inspector of the regional Center for the Canine Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs talks about the intricacies of his work, the profiles and breeds of police dogs, as well as the achievements of his charges. Or rather, partners.

The Novgorod Canine Center of the UMVD is perhaps the only place where the majority of employees are four-legged: there are about 49 dogs here, not counting the puppies. As for their mentors, today 12 people work here, two of them are interns. There are about 100 service dogs guarding the law in the entire region.

We took a short interview with Oksana DMITRIEVA, a canine inspector at the Central Control Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Novgorod Region. Over 19 years of work, our interlocutor has “raised” about 10 animals. Oksana Alekseyevna told us about her work and also introduced us to her two tailed partners – Belya and Lavina.

- Oksana Alekseevna, where do they train service dog handlers? And what kind of education does one need to become one?

– You can become a dog handler with almost any secondary specialized or higher education. During the process of entering the service, we send future dog handlers to study at specialized schools at the Ministry of Internal Affairs: for example, the Ufa School for the Training of Dog Handler Specialists or the Rostov School of Service and Detective Dog Breeding.

I originally graduated from an agricultural technical school and specialised as a veterinary paramedic. Then I went to the patrol and guard service as a police officer-dog handler. Later I transferred to a dog training centre, where I worked my way up to an inspector-dog handler.

– Does the center work not only for the city, but for the entire region? Are there any other divisions anywhere?

- Yes, we cover the entire region. But there are also canine departments and a canine group, the latter is in Borovichi. There are dogs with a general search profile, for searching for drugs and explosives. Veliky Novgorod has all the listed profiles, as well as for searching for corpses and cadaveric remains.

- What breeds of dogs serve in the Novgorod police cynological center? To what extent does the profile depend on the breed?

– We have the well-known German Shepherds, as well as Central Asian, Eastern European and Belgian Shepherds (also known as Malinois). There are Labradors and even one “she-wolf” – the Czechoslovakian wolfdog Aika.

The profile does not directly depend on the breed, only Central Asian Shepherds have a clear specialization - they guard temporary detention facilities. "Wolf" specializes in searching for corpses. Otherwise, most breeds are universal, and the profile is chosen depending on the abilities of a particular dog. Rather, dog handlers usually prefer certain breeds.

– How do dogs appear and train at the Center?

– There are purchases and our own breeding. Animals for mating are selected based on working and exterior qualities, and then suitable 45-day-old puppies are selected. And from two months, training in standard commands begins. Puppies are raised until a year. Closer to a year, we check with tests which profile the dog is more suitable for. And some are sent to the convoy, some to the wanted list, some to search for drugs or explosives.

– Does it ever happen that you can’t discipline a puppy?

- We don't have such cases. And it's very unlikely, because the first thing a good dog trainer does is choose an approach. When you raise a dog from a small puppy like this, you already see what it's like. You can find a common language with any animal if you know what to approach it with: one dog likes to play with a ball, another likes treats, a third likes tactile contact. And when there is a common language, then both the work and the training go as it should.

- When do dogs go to their well-deserved rest? And where?

– They usually retire at eight years, but everything is subjective – it depends on health and the preservation of skills. Any service dog undergoes certification annually: at different sites it must be able to find up to 10 types of drugs or explosives, depending on the profile. In search – following a trail, and so on.

If the animal passes the control test, it can work for up to 9-10 years. And "retirees" are usually given to home care free of charge, and dog handlers themselves often take them as pets. I myself have dogs at home with whom I have spent years of service. And when you remember them as puppies, you raise and train them yourself, of course, you become attached. And they are grateful pets: they get along with each other and with cats.

If a "retired" service dog does not find a new home, it lives out the rest of its days here, in the Center. But this happens extremely rarely.

- You just showed us how a dog detects traces of a narcotic substance in a car. Can you tell us about it?

- This is Belle, a Belgian shepherd. She has been working in drug detection for seven and a half years, and has already uncovered many cases. Previously, she served in Dagestan in public order protection, and participated in inspection activities at the post.

- The second shepherd is a German one? What are her achievements?

- That's right, this is a German shepherd named Lavina, a search dog, she's six years old. This year she's already found two people. One of them is a child. A little girl got lost in the village of Volkhovets, Lavina was able to pick up the scent and find her.

And here is an example of how sensitive service dogs are. When detained, the dog does not attack the person, but sits down next to him, starts barking and does not let him leave. The German Shepherd is not tall at the withers, but large, stocky - this in itself would be scary for any adult. When Lavina found the girl, she did not bark, so as not to scare the child. She simply led her to a bush, behind which the "lost" was found.

- Oksana Alekseevna, please share one last thing: what is the most difficult thing in your work and what is the most pleasant?

- You need to have a lot of patience, remember that your ward is not a tool, but a living being. You can't just put them away and forget about them - you need to spend time with them, as they say, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The most important thing and also difficult is to gain trust.

But the latter is the most joyful and pleasant thing in our work. When you find the "key" to the student, when the first successes in training begin, and as a result the trained dog goes to work, helps to solve crimes and helps people.

Photo: Lyudmila Stepiko