Police officers in Meru County have launched a search operation for a missing police dog in Tigania.
The police dog, which is a female Belgian Malinois breed, went missing on Tuesday, February 7, 2024, according to a police report.
According to the report, the dog, which was assigned to the Tigania Station, was discovered missing by her handler during a routine feeding.
The assigned officer said that he found the kennel, located within a police station, open.
“He reported the same to the OCS and the Regional Dog Master,” read part of the report.
The authorities have since launched a search operation as search teams actively scour the area to recover the seven-year-old brown and tan canine named Jet.
Also, the authorities have made an appeal to the public for any information that might aid in her recovery.
Officials further said that they believe the animal was picked up by someone who knew about its movements, terming the loss as huge to the service.
“We attach much love to police dogs. She is like a police officer hence the mobilization to get her,” an officer said.
Belgian Malinois
According to the officials, Belgian Malinois dog breeds can fetch up to Ksh500,000 depending on the age and level of training.
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The dogs are one of the most expensive breeds, largely because their prices keep on rising with the demand.
1- to 3-month-old pure female puppies of the same breed are estimated to be between Ksh40,000 to Ksh70,000.
On the other hand, male Belgian Malinois puppies of the same age range between Ksh30, 000 to Ksh80,000.
However, according to a dog expert who spoke to The Kenya Times, the value of dogs depreciates as they age.
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Belgian Malinois have been mostly used by security personnel throughout the world.
They form majority part of Combat Assault Dogs (CAD) which have transformed the tactics of the Special Operations community.
The dogs are resilient during combat missions due to their speed, discipline, agility, and ferocity.
Also known as the Belgian Shepherd, the breed has remained to be the predominant breed utilized by US SEAL Teams.
This is due to their compact size and lightning speed which help create a tactical advantage for SEALs and other Special Operations units.
According to American Kernel, the breed is favored for its intelligence, agility, loyalty, obedience, fierce nature and fast with acute vision.
Police dogs
The Kenya police has a dog unit dubbed Langata K-9 which is based at Langata in Nairobi.
Langata K-9 was established to procure and breed dogs, and support in care and maintenance of the dogs.
It is also mandated to train the animals as well as handlers and deploy them for crime detection and prevention.
The Kenya Police Dog Unit also uses different dogs for explosives detection, patrol, and tracking of drugs and firearms.
It has about 5,000 dogs deployed at key government installations like the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The breeds used by the unit include German Shepherds, Labradors, Rottweilers, English Spaniels and Boerboel.
Dogs are trained upon reaching about five months old and then deployed after three months if they meet performance standards.
