By Purushottam P. Khatri
Kathmandu, Nov. 19 : Central Police Dog Training School (CPDTS), Maharajgunj could not organise a special ceremony to worship dogs and show dog drills, which is organised every year on the day of Kukur Tihar, this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the general worship was held internally, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr. Deuti Gurung, the head of the Canine Division under the CPDTS.
Although no special function was held this year, the Canine Division declared Jojo as the Dog of the Year 2020, Dr. Gurung said.
"Jojo deserved the title this year as it helped resolve the murder case of Krishna Bahadur Bohara of Rolpa, who was found dead in Navajyoti Marg in Gongbu, Kathmandu, on August 8," Dr. Gurung said.
A beheaded body of Bohara was found by Jojo 300 metres away from the spot where his body was found wrapped inside a suitcase.
"If Jojo hadn't been deployed for the operation as a tracker dog in Gongbu, it would have taken a long time to find the head and legs of Bohara," said SSP Deepak Thapa of Metropolitan Police Crime Division.
Jojo belongs to bloodhound species. Police had bought the dog from Belarus paying Rs. 650,000. It was four-month old when it was brought here four years ago. After one and a half years training, Jojo began assisting other dogs in investigation.
Nepal Police now have 80 trained dogs. It has become a worldwide tradition to seek the help dogs for safety. Dogs have been assisting the police in criminal investigation, she said.
According to Gurung, there is a growing need for police dogs to detect complex crimes in the society.
Nepal Police has at times unraveled the knots of some complex cases of crimes that have not been done by competent officers and technology with the help of dogs. In crime investigation, Nepal Police have technologies like polygraph machine, digital forensic lab, DNA profiling unit, automatic fingerprint identification system, drug testing hyper performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). Dogs are another reliable player of police investigation in this case, she said.

Four categories of dogs
Of the 189 species of dogs found in the world, only a few are being used for crime investigations in Nepal. Among them, Nepal Police have eight breeds of dogs, including German Shepherd, Labrador, Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Beagle, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhound and Dutch Shepherd, said SSP Gurung.
The police have trained these dogs for four main tasks, Tracker Dog, Explosive Dog, Search and Rescue Dog and Drugs Search Dog.
According to SSP Gurung, after giving three months’ basic training, the dogs are selected according to their ability. Tracker dog is used to investigate incidents such as murder, abduction and rape.
VIP, VVIP security and explosive finding dogs are used to detect bombs, ammunition and explosives. Search and rescue dogs are used to search for those missing in natural disasters such as floods, landslides and earthquakes while the search dogs are used for drugs.
According to SSP Gurung, culprits can be traced and arrested if a trained police dog reaches the crime spot within 24 hours of the incident. If no one is allowed to enter the scene, the culprit can be identified.

Olfactory cells matter
Crime and drug detection police-trained dogs have a greater sense of smell than other normal dogs. Olfactory receptor cells of local breeds of dogs called (Bhote dog) in Nepal are 150 million, while trained dogs with German Shepherd, Labrador and other breeds have 225 to 300 million olfactory cells due to which the dog finds the culprit by sniffing. "The higher the olfactory cells, the greater the sniffing ability," SSP Gurung said.
DSP Pramod Raj Bhatta of the Central Police Dog Training Centre said, "In many cases, trained dogs are trusted more than the police. In some cases, the victim is not even allowed to pick up the corpse until the dog is brought.”
The use of dogs has also increased due to the positive results of the incidents. At present, there are eight policemen to train dogs.
According to the statistics available with the police, demand for trained dogs for drug and explosive investigation has increased by about 160 per cent within a year.
Typical names of dogs
The names of the dogs in the training centre are interesting. DSP Bhatta said, “The shorter the name, the easier it is to identify and call.”
Now there are dogs named Bhunti, Kali, Jange, Maya, Munni, Rani, Sathi, Sanju, Laila, Ganga, Roni, Leo and others.

How dogs are trained
Nepal Police have been bringing dogs from India, Thailand and other countries. After six months of their purchase, the dog is normally given training.
A policeman capable of training dogs handles them. The dog obeys to only those who have trained them.
The dog is taken out of the cage in the morning for defecation. Then about an hour of physical exercise is given. Drugs and weapons are hidden to make them search daily.
The dogs are also massaged for 30 minutes daily. Food is served around 10 o'clock in the morning. After resting in the cage till 12 o'clock, they are made to practice again till 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Trained dogs are fed dog food daily. A healthy dog needs 132 calories per 1kg of body weight. A dog eats 600 grams of food daily, worth about Rs. 300 a day, said DSP Bhatta.