Mangalagiri: Vet specialists to take care of canines of intel & security wings

Mangalagiri: Home Minister Taneti Vanitha said at present there are 177 dogs in the dog squad of Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Security Wing and another 35 will be added soon. She attended the passing out parade of 20th batch of canines at 6th APSP Battalion here on Wednesday.

After presenting awards to trained dogs, which excelled during training programme, the Home Minister said that the State government has issued orders to appoint veterinary specialists to take care of the health of these dogs.

MLA Alla Rama Krishna Reddy, Home Principal Secretary Harish Kumar Gupta, Intelligence DG Seetharamanjaneyulu and other officials were present on the occasion.

During the 8-month basic training to 35 canines and 52 handlers, which concluded on Wednesday, they were trained in detection of explosives, tracking and assault categories. The canine breeds, which have undergone training, include 21 Labradors, 10 Belgium Malinois, two Golden Retrievers and two Cocker Spaniel. They have been specially chosen as per their traits and breed pedigree and also depending on the requirements and needs of the department.

All the 35 canines will go to various districts and Commissionerates across the State, Intelligence Security Wing, Greyhounds, OCTOPUS and the TTD to perform the respective duties. The canine temporary training institute started functioning from 2017 at Mangalagiri and till date four batches consisting of as many as 124 canines and 175 handlers were trained here. In the passing out parade, the award winning canines and handlers were given prizes. Mementos were given to K Surya Bhashakar Reddy, SP, ISW, TN; Srinivasa Rao, Inspector of Police; Dr S Pratap; and other trainers, who did excellent work in training the canines and handlers.