Tracing PDU's developments in the past 60 years, SIP Chan said: "PDU now has 104 police dogs and their jobs have undergone major changes from patrolling the border to being deployed to refugee camps in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, PDU started training police dogs for searching for explosives, and deployed police dogs to Emergency Units in 1996. In recent years, police dogs took part in major operations, including the MC6, the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events and the East Asian Games.

"The jobs of police dogs have been extended to detect drugs, track crime scenes, search for explosives and carry out daily anti-crime patrol, and training for these jobs has been strengthened and updated. Police dogs are now deployed to different posts, for example patrol dogs to the five land Regions and search dogs to the Kai Tak Operational Base and the airport in Chek Lap Kok."

Police dogs owe their good duty performances to their handlers, who train them up, work with them and look after their daily lives until the latter retire or pass away.

Woman Police Constable (WPC) Tsui Yee-ling made up her mind to join PDU after she was impressed with a police dog's duty performance. She recalled: "I was handling a brawl inside a Tsim Sha Tsui bar when the people involved were very uncooperative, causing a commotion at the scene. But when a police dog arrived at the scene and barked at the yelling people at the command of the handler, everybody quieted down and the situation was immediately brought under control."

WPC Tsui and her partner, a three-year-old Malinois, Nelly, were posted to Emergency Unit Kowloon West (EU KW) in August this year after completing a 15-week basic training course. About her job in EU KW, she said: "Soon we handled different cases and took part in some special operations. In a recent case of serious wounding, the people involved were unhappy with the media covering the case, and both parties had a scuffle. Together with another handler, I then made use of police dogs' abilities to keep the scene under control for CID officers to continue with their investigations."

Senior Police Constable (SPC) Chiu Yu-Kwan has been working in PDU for over 21 years, having worked with different police dogs in patrolling the streets, and searching for drugs and explosives. He was commended for arresting a total of 50 illegal immigrants and several wanted persons whilst working with patrol dog Happy in Tseung Kwan O Division.

Later SPC Chiu teamed up with a new partner, drug-sniffing dog Rose. On one occasion, the pair was called out to assist in an armed robbery in Kennedy Road. Within a matter of half an hour, Rose managed to trace the culprit's escape route and sniff out a fake gun used in the robbery, as well as a quantity of stolen property. After the culprit was convicted, the pair was commended by the Central District Commander for a job well done.

In an anti-fireworks operation in Yuen Long, SPC Chiu and another partner, Teak, uncovered 12.5 kilogrammes of fireworks inside an abandoned village house.

SPC Chiu told OffBeat: "During my years with the Police Dog Unit, I've worked in different posts with police dogs, and this has given me a lot of satisfaction. I've also built up a close emotional bond with my canine partners. With loyalty, bravery and agility, they're truly the best partners."

Sergeant (SGT) Chan Wai-ki has been with PDU for 22 years, including 15 years as Instructor. He pointed out PDU's equipment was constantly updated to meet training needs. He recalled: "In the past when proper training equipment was not available, instructors used to design and make their own tools according to the needs of police dogs, and to enhance their abilities. To keep police dogs fit, agile and adaptable to future jobs, the instructors also designed and produced hurdles to train police dogs in jumping and climbing."

"In the past 60 years, the Police Dog Unit went through a lot of transformations in terms of number of police dogs, their breeds and job natures. The unit will march forward with times and improve training equipment in a bid to rise up to the challenges to come," SGT Chan concluded.

Police dogs capture many kids' fancy

PC Tsui Yee-ling and her partner, Nelly