Blackie the beloved crime-battling hound
Whatever you do, just don’t let Blackie get your scent
While urban tracking is a difficult task for any working dog, Plettenberg Bay’s four-legged crime fighter Blackie is taking it in his stride.
The German shepherd, a former stray, has crept into the hearts of many since he was adopted last year by the Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association (PBCPA) to support the organisation in its crime-fighting efforts.
Following his adoption from the
Plett Animal Welfare Association (PAWS), he was trained to fill the need for a dedicated local K9 unit. Although the police have a dog unit and handler, they cover a vast area along the Garden Route and are therefore not always available when the need arises for K9 assistance.
Blackie has since
“Urban tracking is very difficult for any track-and-retrieve working dogs – it is an ultimate test for a K9’s abilities and senses,” says Blackie’s handler Otto Olivier.
The dog recently underwent an urban tracking simulation where he had to deal with a myriad of noises and scents, among other distractions.
“At least once a week Backie’s trackand-retrieve skills are tested. Last week he underwent a 2.6km urban tracking simulation. It was difficult. Blackie had to deal with barking dogs, traffic, pedestrians, grass, pavements, tar, soil and sand,” Olivier says.
During all simulations, Olivier explains, Blackie is trained to pick up a scent with and without an “article”.
“During his recent training simulations, Blackie quickly picked up the scent that a runner had left a half-an-hour before. The track was deliberately cross-contaminated with other footprints.”
The handler says he was very proud that Blackie had passed the training with “flying colours”.
Blackie’s skills have come in handy during crime-fighting operations, Olivier says, with the most recent incident involving Blackie flushing a robbery suspect out of the bushes at Lookout Beach parking area where he had been hiding.