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WHAT IF OFFICER FIDO IS A WUSS?
POLICE DOGS HAVE to be capable of a certain level of aggression. How else to command the respect they deserve? So what to do if Fido happens to be a loyal but loving wuss?
According to Phoebe Zhang writing in the South China Morning Post, July 1, 2021, if Fido washes out of the Police academy, he then goes on auction for a loving home elsewhere.
Phoebe Zhang writes, “A police academy in China is planning to auction off police dogs who failed to qualify due to ‘cowardice’ and ‘weak retrieving abilities.’ According to an official notice from the Criminal Investigation Police University of China this month, 54 dogs will be put up for public auction on July 7 at the academy.”
German Shepards and Belgian Malinois usually pass muster because of their agility, obedience, and intelligence. Some, though, are just not suited for police work.
Auction Plans. “On auction day,” Zhang reports, “videos of each dog will be shown to the public before bidding begins at 200 yuan (US$30.9). The highest bidder will be able to collect the dog on the same day.”
The Deal. The official notice reads, “People who adopted these dogs will need to obey government laws on dog raising, and show responsibility to the dogs, they cannot sell or give away the dogs and need to care for them until their natural death.”
Zhang notes, “According to the academy’s official website, it has auctioned off dogs four times this year, selling 158 dogs so far.”
“According to the ministry,” she says, “all potential police dogs are bred in licenced centres and are trained from when they reach 45 days old to six months of age.The cubs are trained for speed, courage, sniffing and retrieving abilities.”
Zhang notes, “When fully grown, they will be further trained and need to pass examinations to qualify as an official police dog. According to public data from a police dog breeding base in Kunming, Yunnan province, 14 percent of their dogs were disqualified in 2018 and 2019.”
What’s more, she says, “Even after officially becoming a police dog, the animal will face a month-long training and re-evaluation session every year.”
A Good Retirement Plan. Zhang observes, “When they are too old to work, the dogs are usually sent back to the breeding bases or adopted by the public to spend their last years in peace.”
Web Responses. “The public has reacted to the post with enthusiasm,” notes Zhang, “with many joking that it’s not easy being a dog.”
One person wrote on Weibo, China’s most popular website, “There’s so much pressure and such fierce competition to get a government job, even for dogs.” Another wrote cogently, “Even if they are too much of a ‘coward’ to catch thieves, they can still qualify to be play dates for children.”
Just don’t expect Fido to control cookie snatchers or take sides in family squabbles. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2021
Simanaitis Says 
Chet the dog was a Police School drop out but went on to have a successful career as a detective’s assistant. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5600151-dog-on-it
I forgot that detail. Chet is one of my favorites!