CHENNAI: Adding to their expert line-up of canines, the Greater Chennai city police obtained three four-month-old puppies for their canine squad. The Labrador Retriever puppies will be replacing three canines that have put in distinguished service in the department.The pups – aptly named Samrat, Megha and Akash – will play and be engaged in basic training and obedience skills at the city police kennel till they completes five months. A rigorous six-month training will be imparted from their sixth month. Police dogs are trained to specialise in one of three categories – explosive detection, tracking or narcotics. The three pups will be trained in explosive detection at the Police Detective Dog Squad and Training Centre, Egmore. After a one-month trial with senior expert police dogs, the newcomers will be inducted into regular work.The three puppies are replacing Venus, Sindhu and Roxy that will be retiring soon. There will be a total of 27 canines in the squad including Labrador Retrievers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Great Danes and Rottweilers. “Right from selecting the pups to inducting them into service, every step is conducted with great care. We choose the first litter, and buy the pups here as bringing them from abroad poses problems due to change in weather conditions. After leaving the pups for two months with their mother, we bring them here. We maintain the history and medical files for all dogs,” said P Viswanathan, sub-inspector of police, police dog squad.Five meals a day will be brought down to three after the puppy completes one year; the diet includes milk, eggs and calcium tonic for breakfast, beef, rice, vegetables and turmeric powder for lunch, and milk and bread for dinner. “We have 31 trainers cum handlers. Every canine is treated like our own baby and the dog develops a strong bond with its handler,” he said. Trainers said dogs are kept in service for up to about eight years. After they retire they are kept in the kennel till they die.
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