Sniffer dog Jake is found safe & sound

June 1995

Ireland’s top sniffer dog Jake, whose abduction attracted international media attention, is alive and well.

The six-year-old labrador was found in a disused shed in Bridgetown on Wednesday. Wexford gardaí who recovered the prized canine during a search of the Bridgetown area in the early hours of the morning are certain that his kidnapping was linked to illegal drugs activity.

A senior garda spokesman who was involved in the four-day investigation said it was suspected that Jake had been moved from premises to premises a number of times since his disappearance.

The successful sniffer dog, who hit the international headlines last weekend when he was mysteriously stolen from a locked kennel at the home of his handler, looked none the worse for his ordeal.

The handler, whose name and address are being guarded by Customs authorities for security reasons, was contacted by the gardaí shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

The National Drugs Team official was reported to be ‘over the moon’ as he formally identified his faithful friend and work companion to the gardaí who found him.

Then it was a further period of incarceration for Jake, as he waited in a cell in Wexford Garda Station for the arrival of senior Customs officials from Dublin, who are now faced with the task of upgrading security arrangements for their handlers and sniffer dogs.

Jake himself may have been a victim of his own success because of all the Customs sniffer dogs, he has received the most publicity over the past five years.

During his career in Rosslare Harbour, he helped in the detection of more than £6 million worth of illegal drugs, and contributed to the conviction and sentencing of a large number of smugglers.

In a bizarre twist to the tale earlier this week, Uri Geller, the British psychic, announced to the media that he had a feeling Jake was alive and locked in a basement near a petrol station and also near water.

Wexford Gardaí did not comment this week on whether or not Geller’s ‘feeling’ had any bearing on their search for the missing dog. They did say however that the hunt for Jake was ‘extensive’.

And the Gardaí, who themselves make no claim to psychic powers, were also saying unofficially that they believed he was alive because those responsible for his abduction could have killed him on the spot if that was their intention.

The public reacted with overwhelming concern and sympathy for their canine hero. During the week, a large number of people telephoned Wexford Garda Station to report sightings of stray dogs, but none of them proved to be the mssing Customs dog.

The investigation into Jake’s abduction is still continuing and Gardaí are hopeful of soon making a breakthrough in the puzzling case.