A Labrador retriever in Taiwan flunked out of police academy for being too playful. Now, he aids with search and rescue efforts — together with those who adopted the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the nation final week.
The 8-year-old pup named Roger was initially skilled to be a drug-sniffing canine on the Customs Administration’s Detector Dog Breeding & Training Center within the metropolis of Taichung, in accordance with Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA).
But he flunked out for being “too friendly and boisterous,” his handler, Lee Hsin Hung, instructed the New York Times.
So, the canine joined a search and rescue crew on the Kaohsiung Fire Bureau. Today, he’s a rating officer.
CNA/AFP through Getty Images
His first rescue mission got here in 2018 after a magnitude-6 earthquake, search and rescue crew chief Chen Chih-san instructed CNA. It quickly grew to become clear that Roger’s playful nature made him the proper pup for the job.
Since then, Roger has helped out on seven missions. The most recent got here after the earthquake struck the east coast of Taiwan on April 3.
Following the 7.4-magnitude tremor — the most important quake the nation has skilled in 25 years — the pup helped find the physique of the earthquake’s thirteenth sufferer, a 21-year-old lady buried in rubble in Taroko National Park, the New York Times reported.
Following his gallant efforts on the park, the pup stole hearts together with his habits in recent information protection, from attempting to gnaw on a reporter’s microphone to ripping aside a stuffed toy whereas on digicam, per the newspaper.
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LAURENT FIEVET/Hualien County Fire Department /AFP through Getty Images
Along with fellow search and rescue pups, Roger’s laborious work was rewarded with toys and snacks, in accordance with ABC Australia.
The pup was “still full of energy” after the mission, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-Mai mentioned, per ABC Australia. At least, sufficient power to take pleasure in his rewards.
“After receiving the ice cream toy, he did not thoughts messing up his look whereas enthusiastically chewing on it,” the mayor mentioned, including that the canine vivid “smiles to everybody regardless of their exhaustion.”
Though nonetheless as playful as a puppy, Roger is getting old. His heart-stealing habits this previous week marked a bittersweet finish to his profession as a search and rescue canine.
He will quickly flip 9 — the age at which the Kaohsiung Fire Bureau says he should retire.
However, as Chih-san assured CNA, the soon-to-be-retired pup will likely be adopted into a very good home.
