First border collie joins NSW Police Dog Unit as bomb-sniffing canine
For the first time, the NSW Police Dog Unit has welcomed a border collie to its team. Three-year-old Charlie has been trained in bomb detection and will clear venues before major events.
NSW
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When it comes to sniffing out bombs, Charlie is literally a breed apart as he’s the first border collie to join the NSW Police Force’s dog unit.
While his canine colleagues are focused on tracking down guns, drugs and crooks, Charlie sweeps venues for bombs ahead of major events — including the State of Origin at Sydney Olympic Park and city locations ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Sydney.
“He is a very high drive dog,” handler Sergeant Aaron Gleaves told The Sunday Telegraph.
“He is very visual so if he sees anything suspicious to him he will naturally want to go over and examine it and use his nose.
“That is good for what we want to do, particularly with suspicious packages, cars and bags.
“It is in his nature and breed because he is a working dog.”
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Traditionally bred for farm work and herding sheep, border collies maintain high energy for longer than other dogs in hot weather.
Three-year-old Charlie is the third police dog (the others are retired) to join Sgt Gleaves’s family.
”The dog picks the handler,” he joked as Charlie jumped up for a hug.
Sgt Gleaves has been at the dog unit for 10 years, joining initially as a drug dog handler and progressing to a trainer.
“I grew up with animals like most of the guys here and wanted to go out there and catch bombs and drugs and criminals,” he said.
The dog unit is now home to six different breeds, including German and Belgian Shepherds.
Originally published as First border collie joins NSW Police Dog Unit as bomb-sniffing canine