Now, the ‘fast and furious’ sniffer will spend rest of his life with ‘Peoples for Animals,’ an NGO that has adopted the canine.
Nagpur: He served the Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) of Railway Protection Force with aplomb. In his almost 10 years of service, he trailed and caught many offenders of various crimes with ease. This ‘fast and furious’ RPF squad member also detected and prevented explosive tragedies umpteen times. And now, the grateful Railway Protection Force, as a last salute, accorded him a farewell in a befitting manner. The squad member is none other than the sniffer dog – Rino. Rino retired after 10 years of distinguished service in RPF in city. Now, the fiery Rino will spend rest of his life with ‘Peoples for Animals,’ an NGO that has adopted the canine.
At the farewell function, Senior Divisional Safety Commissioner of Central Railway Jyotikumar Satija fondly garlanded Rino and recalled the sniffer dog’s services in RPF. Satija said, “Rino has been serving the Railway Protection Force since he was 40 days old. Rino has spent all 10 years of his life in the Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) with utmost dedication and determination. In the BDDS, one’s life is sacrificial but Rino never hesitated to perform his duty the risks notwithstanding,” Satija said as a tribute to the canine.
Deputy Safety Commissioner Chaudhary highlighted the utility of a sniffer dog and the working style of Rino. “Rino was like a family member to RPF personnel. The sniffer dog precisely served the RPF for 9 years and 9 months. Now time has come to relieve Rino from the service and wish him best of the days in his new home,” Chaudhary said with emotions writ large on his face.
Rino has been adopted by Manoj Thakkar, President of ‘Peoples for Animals.’ Expressing his gratitude to RPF, Thakkar said the retired Rino will spend rest of his life amongst them.
The veterinarian Dr Gautam Bhojne said that the sniffer dog is trained to detect explosive materials used in bombs and the like weapons. Frequent sniffing of explosives causes damage of liver and kidneys of the dog. The damaged liver and kidneys reduce the life span of sniffer dogs by 4-6 years.
Vijay Rao, the trainer of Rino went emotional and could not utter a single word. In fact he refused to talk on the occasion. The Secretary of Peoples for Animals Karishma Galani said that the emotions of Rao and the fond words expressed by other officials show that Rino was darling of RPF and his retirement has pained the animal-loving force.
Salary of sniffer dogs:
According to Government rules, a sniffer dog receives Rs 10,000 as salary per month during his service period. The money is spent on the sniffer’s food and other day-to-day chores. With no post-retirement pensions or plans in place to rehabilitate the sniffer dogs, most of them are dependent on private NGOs after retiring. RPF officials said there is no scheme providing a budget for food or medical expenses of retired dogs. As per an order, sniffers are handed over to NGOs. An animal lover said that the sniffer dogs should be paid 50 percent of their salary as pension so that no difficulties are faced in their care. They live for hardly 2-3 years after retirement, and should not be left to their fate.
Now, the RPF Bomb Squad has acquired two new sniffer dogs after the death of Paddy and retirement of Rino.
