CEBU CITY – “Poochie,” an 18-month-old male Golden Retriever, will help authorities ensure that pork and pork-related products coming from areas affected by African Swine Fever will not be able to enter Cebu.
After more than two months of training, Poochie showed his capability to detect packages containing pork and pork-related products when he was presented to the media at the Philippine Coast Guard-Central Visayas headquarters here yesterday.
During the presentation, Poochie sniffed through several boxes that had been lined up until he sat on a package containing pork.
“When he detects the presence of pork, he either sits, wags his tail, or there is head jerk. The handler and the dog have developed a certain communication that allows the trainer to also detect the presence of pork through the dog’s body language,” said canine trainer Seaman Second Class Kristofferson Bitoy.
Although the training is scheduled for one year, Poochie is already fit for deployment.
“He will be randomly deployed in seaports or terminals. He can work for at least four hours daily,” Encina said.
Poochie is originally a drug-sniffing canine but was converted into a pork-sniffing dog when Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia issued a series of executive orders totally banning or regulating the entry of pork and pork-related products in Cebu.
Pork and pork-related products coming from Luzon are banned from entering Cebu. Those coming from other areas are allowed if equipped with necessary papers.
“We already have the information gathering capability but we don’t have detection capability. So to fill in the gap, we trained Poochie to become a pork-sniffing dog,” said Lt. Junior Grade Michael Encina, PCG Region 7 spokesperson.
Encina said Poochie is the first pork-sniffing dog in the country and one of the 20 sniffing-dogs of the PCG Region 7. Of the 20 canines, 12 are bomb-sniffing dogs, seven drug-sniffing dogs and one search and rescue dog. (Calvin D. Cordova)
