Pic Exhibits German Police Dogs Staying ‘Calm in Entrance of a Cat for his or her Ultimate Examination’?

Claim:

A 1987 photograph exhibits “german police dogs” who “had to stay calm in front of a cat for their final exam.”

Rating:

What’s True

The {photograph} seems to be real — i.e., not faux or digitally enhanced.

What’s False

It was taken in England, not in Germany, as urged.

What’s Undetermined

It was unclear whether or not the cat was a part of a “ultimate examination” or simply wandered into the shot.

A black-and-white {photograph} shared to X (previously Twitter) on Dec. 23, 2023, claimed to indicate a gaggle of “german police dogs” in 1987 that had been made to “keep calm in entrance of a cat for his or her ultimate examination.” The textual content additionally hinted that the photograph was taken in Germany.

At the time of this publication, one such post had obtained greater than 10.2 million views: 

Though the {photograph} seems to be real — i.e., not digitally created or enhanced — it was taken in England, not Germany. Furthermore, Snopes discovered no report to corroborate the declare that the walking cat was certainly the dogs’ “ultimate examination.” We subsequently price this declare as having a mix of fact/falsehoods.

To affirm the main points of this {photograph}, Snopes contacted the National Archives within the United Kingdom and the Metropolitan Police. Neither establishment was in a position to affirm the main points of the {photograph}, together with whether or not the walking cat was the ultimate examination or simply wandered into the shot. 

Here’s what we do know: A reverse-image search utilizing Google Lens (archive) returned a {photograph} hosted by the inventory picture web site Shutterstock with a caption describing the {photograph} as having been taken in June 1987 on the Metropolitan Police Dog Championship Training Centre in Kent, a county in Southeast England. The cat reportedly was named “Minstrel.” 

Next, Snopes carried out a Google search (archive) utilizing the key phrases “METROPOLITAN POLICE DOG CHAMPIONSHIP, TRAINING CENTRE KENT – 18 JUN 1987” and located the identical picture hosted by the British inventory photograph company Alamy, which additionally recognized the cat as Minstrel, and stated it reportedly lived on the coaching facility.  

Snopes has regarded into different on-line claims about working dogs, together with whether or not images genuinely confirmed dozens of bomb-sniffing dogs killed by a safety firm in Kuwait, and if the United States deserted dozens of navy working dogs in Kabul, Afghanistan, when the U.S. withdrew troops.

Sources