What Unit Is This?

[Gil Boyd]

We, as humans know nothing about dogs. Their true capabilities are only now being learnt.
They find Cash/drugs/explosives/Cadivar body parts and even detect cancer. All things learnt in the last 20 years.
I remember once as a Police Diving Supervisor, we were searching a very large lake for a drowned person and it was a long arduos search. We came into the bank to replace divers and get more cylinders, when a dog handler who I knew wanted to have a break and boat ride with his dog. His dog sat on the front, and as we reached the search pattern buoys, the dog started barking and indicating for no reason.

It was so intense and he was so adamant something was there, that we put a diver down and recovered the body. What we learnt from that incident was, that the bodies bubbles were continually being released to the surface, unseen by human eyes but smelt by the dog............absolutely amazing to watch.

Later in service I invented a microwave camera system for the Home Office that dogs could wear after the Hungerford Massacre in 1987. The service needed kit to be able to be the eyes and ears of a dog once he went into a stronghold, and respond to what they were telling us as humans, and beam those images and sound out for others to monitor a search remotely.
I called it W.O.L.V.E.S (Wireless Operational Link & Video Exploration System, in honour of the dogs. It is now used right across the spectrum of dog use, with much smaller technology applied to it, and made a significant mark in the variety certain species of dogs can find.

I have shed many a tear over them, and proud to be able to say that. Its heartwarming to see dogs used for the blind and hard at hearing etc..........what versatile animals they are, and we are only now, scratching the surface as to their true capabilities.