Animalspeak: A day in the life of an Armed Forces dog

Text and Photos by KHRYSTA IMPERIAL RARA

Published October 11, 2014 5:47pm

Belgian Malinois Enzo, of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' K9 Unit.

He is 70 years old but still works full-time. White hair inches its way all around his head. Small white clouds are starting to cloud his eyes.

But he is still Top Dog at the Armed Forces of the Philippines' K9 unit.

Endo, a Belgian Malinois is a trained bomb sniffer. He tops all the tests during practice runs despite his age. Seventy is his age in dog years, but in human years, he is 10.

Whatever Endo lacks in physical looks, he makes up for in charm and intelligence. His eyes have a soft shimmer that reveals his gentle nature.

“Endo is kind. He doesn’t pick fights with other dogs and cats. He is not destructive. He just focuses on his job and ignores distractions,” said his handler, Sergeant Marlon Agena of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' K9 unit.

“If I tell him to stay in one place, he will stay there all day until I call him,” said Agena.

Blind date at first sight

Endo is one of 88 bomb-sniffing dogs deployed by the AFP all over the country. They search for bombs in possible locations, be they places or objects. The dogs and their handlers put their lives on the line daily to keep the public safe.

For example, in Cotobato a few years ago, a Belgian Malinois located a bomb that was about to detonate. He and his handler just had a few seconds to run before the explosion. Both dog and man survived the blast, although the handler was injured.

The dogs eat twice daily; their diet consists of expensive dog biscuits. A budget of P90 a day or P2,700 a month—which is equivalent to the Subsistence Allowance of one soldier—is allotted for each dog, explained Philippine Army Colonel Romeo S. Brawner, Jr.

Compatibility between the dog and handler is key to guarantee a good working relationship. A personality mismatch could prove fatal.

Endo and Agena first met during a K9 competition in 2009 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It was a chance encounter, almost like a blind date.

A trainer introduced them to each other, then ordered them to locate five bombs at Terminal 3. They found three. They placed second in that competition and went on to win other contests. It was a match made in heaven. Now, they are partners for life.

“I combined training with bonding, so our training went faster,” Agena recalled. They have been assigned to locations all over Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and are currently doing gate guard duty at Camp Aguinaldo. They are always on call, ready to rush to places where suspicious unattended bags and packages are found.

Bomb sniffing practice

Enzo and his handler, Sergeant Marlon Agena, pose for a photo.

Endo demonstrated his skills recently when he, Agena, and K9 trainer Sgt. Danilo Ta-a guested in the program Kwentuhang Pets Atbp at DZUP 1602 inside the UP Diliman campus.

Before the program, Agena planted a bomb fuse and a C4 plastic explosive inside a cabinet in the announcer’s booth. During the live on-air discussion, Endo remained still at Agena’s feet, eyes closed while listening and simply enjoying the cold in the airconditioned room.

Endo snapped to attention even before Agena gave the order to “sniff.” His eyes riveted on his buddy’s face, Endo waited for the command. Listeners were treated to live annotation as the dog sniffed bags, corners, and swivel chairs while ignoring food inside the bags. In less than a minute, he scratched lightly on a cabinet door then sat down, indicating that he had found the bomb.

Endo’s actions were smooth during the entire exercise. There were no excited jumps or jerky movements. He neither barked nor whimpered.

“We train them not to bark because the slightest sound or vibration could trigger a bomb,” Agena explained.

Endo’s reward was a gentle praise and a firm embrace from Agena. On other occasions, he would get pieces of cheese for a job well done.

All dogs at the Camp start daily ball training and bomb search simulations at 6 a.m. The exercises are conducted like a game so they won’t get bored with the routine.

Retirement prospects

AFP dogs are retired at the age of 15, so Endo has five more years. “He is strong. He can do it. He has never gotten sick before,” Agena stressed.

But retirement can be lonely for these dogs. “When they retire, they spend the rest of their lives in cages. We walk them. We take care of them until…” said Ta-a, his voice trailing off.

“We just wait for their time to come,” Agena finished the sentence for him.

“Although we may have new dogs to train, we will still care for them. We could take them home with us, but we have to follow a process.”

Home for these retired military dogs is the Training and Breeding Center in Clark Airbase, where they live out the rest of their lives.

“In general, military dogs have a maximum life efficiency span of 10 years, but once the K9 dogs reach their 8th year, they are automatically retirement candidates,” Brawner clarified.

“Also, military dogs are being evaluated every month. If the K9 dogs are found incapable of doing their respective duties, they will be candidates for retirement,” he added.

Concerned civilians who would like to give these retired dogs a loving home can adopt them, but priority goes to the K9 handler, should he decide to take home his dog. Next on the priority list would be soldiers and officers from the Philippine Army, Navy, and Air Force who might opt for a mature dog as an animal companion.

With these possibilities for a comfortable life in their senior years, perhaps these dogs benefit from an adoption program that would actively promote their welfare.

Hope for them could lie in people like Brawner’s daughter, Kiele, who co-hosted the radio program. Once chased by an aggressive dog, she developed a phobia for canines, but would now like to give them a second chance.

“I’ve actually wanted a dog for a long time now. I think a retired military dog would be perfect because he would no longer be too restless. He won’t bark so much and I won’t be too scared of him,” she mused.

Endo, meanwhile, enjoyed his moment of fame as students and staff crowded around to pat him and take selfies. “He’s never experienced this much attention before so he’s soaking it all up,” Agena declared with a smile. — VC, GMA News

Tags: militarydogs, enzo, dogs, pets, k9unit