08 Nov 2017

In some countries like the United States of America, a police dog is considered a full-fledged police officer because it has been given a badge and if killed in line of duty, it gets the same honours as its human partner.

However, Julius, the Botswana Police Service sniffer dog does not have a badge but killing her would be equal to killing a police officer.

Above that, those who plan to kill Julius, affectionately known as “Boots” will have their work cut out for them since she has been accorded tight protection following threats over her life.

News to eliminate Julius went viral on social media during the ongoing operations by the Botswana Police Service to uproot illegal drugs in and around Gaborone.

During the raids, Julius became a marvel to watch as she leaves no stone unturned when searching for illegal drugs.  

With her small inquisitive black eyes, pronounced eyebrows, a wagging tail and a nose so keen, her appearance send shivers down the spines of drug dealers.

This subjected her to some gravy notoriety from drug dealers who threatened to use chili pepper to destroy her.

In one television episode, Julius made a record-breaking execution when she discovered a bag containing over P19 000 in one of the homesteads in Broadhurst, being the proceeds of selling dagga and other illicit drugs.

Julius’s security is provided by the Special Support Group (SSG) that has so far managed to detect all potential threats to the mother of more than 10 puppies.

Julius is indeed a marvel to watch when on duty.

Without a leash on her collar, Julius knows that she is not at work.

Put the belt around her neck, Julius would spring to action, sniffing around for illegal stuff.

In partnership with her handler, Julius can achieve results that machines are unable to produce and get the job done faster too.

Her handler Sergeant Kedisang Innocent says Julius is intelligent, brave and has stamina.

Because modern policing requires sensitivity, Julius’s nose is probably the most sensitive piece of “equipment” that has been available in the past few months in her quest to search and uproot narcotic drugs that has hit Botswana the hard way.

Research suggests that the sense of smile of a trained sniffer dog is around 2 000 times better than that of a human being and this allows them to detect smell even after 10 years.

At work, the handler would release Julius and her two off-springs to carry out a more thorough search.

The dog knows what is required of her and she would methodically cover every section of the area she has been sent to explore.

If she reacts or show anxiety at a certain stage, her handler would know that she is about to discover something.

The dog is rewarded and would be given another assignment once the job at hand is finished.

Sergeant Innocent explained that just like any other trained dog, Julius was also trained to detect specific smells above others and has the ability to identify drugs.

For example, a sniffer dog that is trained to find drugs will seek smells related to drugs but can also respond if it picks up the scent of other known objects or substances.

Head of Botswana Police Service public relations unit, Assistant Commissioner Dipheko Motube explained that the Botswana Police Service has a special unit called the dog section or Canine Brigade in the military language.

The unit was established in 1998 with only two drug sniffer dogs that were good at detecting narcotic drugs and explosives but to-date, the police runs a fully-fledged 42 dog regiment with ambitions to extend their services to all corners of the country.

The unit has four types of sniffer dogs which include trekker dogs, ivory sniffer dogs, those that detect explosives and those that detect drugs, adding that these dogs are deployed anywhere in the country when their services are needed.

The dogs are managed by specialised police officers, highly skilled dog handlers who are charged with cooking, feeding, cleaning and maintaining the kennels.

Motube said the unit was important today more than ever given the level of drug abuse in the country, adding that the other services the canine brigade provides include crime detection and prevention.

Explaining the necessity, Assistant Commissioner Motube pointed out that the world had become sophisticated and criminals come up with new skills to beat the security systems and this explains the demand for sniffer dogs.

He said Julius had never disappointed them because she has a sharp sense of detection and skilled in drugs searching as she has managed to intercept huge amounts of drugs particularly marijuana or dagga.

Julius was put under intense training while she was still young to identify which area of expertise she can be good at.

Originating from the province of New Found Land and Labrador in Canada, Julius is a Labrador retriever breed, named after Labrador Island, the continental part of the province.

Labrador breeds are said to be intelligent, outgoing, even tempered, trusting, gentle, agile and kind.

Labradors retriever dogs are the most popular breed in the United Kingdom and the US.

Born October 1, 2010, Julius is a marvel to watch having gone through various trainings in New Found Land, Britain, South Africa and locally.

Assistant Commissioner Motube explained that the police were aware of the threats to Julius because sniffer dogs by nature create enemies.

He said Julius and other sniffer dogs were provided with high security as they are always caged and given high medical attention with regular medical check-ups.

“She is a very intelligent dog,” explained Mr Motube.

“Those who plan to kill her using chili pepper will not make it. It is simple. She will just separate the pepper from the drug.”

In fact, he explained that trained sniffer dogs will always do their job even when drug dealers had covered drugs with other strong smells, in an effort to disguise them.

“In this case, Julius will not be distracted from her task by the chilli pepper.”

He explained further that Julius sticks to her principles, unlike humans who can be easily compromised.

She has a good sense of smell which is one of her greatest assets which gives her an extra-mile to detect drugs. Besides, Julius does not give up easily.

Julius was bought from Machem, a South African company that specialises in dog breeding and training in 2013 for two purposes-breeding and narcotic detection.

Having been certified in 2013 by the Botswana Police Service as a substance detection dog, Julius has already given birth twice and if her working life comes to an end, she will continue to leave with her handler as a family pet because the loyalty and devotion of the dog does not go unrewarded.

If her life comes to an end, there are other dogs which are capable of doing the job, including her 10 offsprings. ENDS