ChHonorary VSC (Specialist) Assistant Superintendent of Police (Hon. ASP) (V) Dr Kenneth Tong from the Special Operations Command, Police K-9 Unit, shares with Police Life how his veterinary expertise and experience helped to contribute to the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) crime-fighting capabilities.

Every Monday and Thursday mornings, Hon. ASP (V) Tong takes a break from his clinical duties at his private clinic to head down to the Police K-9 Unit veterinary clinic to attend to the canines’ medical requirements. In addition to his veterinary services, Hon. ASP (V) Tong also conducts training for the K-9 officers through a series of lectures and workshops. These lectures and workshops are designed to train all K-9 Unit officers, including operational, Para-Veterinarians (Para-vets) and Kennel Hands, on general health care practices and physical examination of the canine, which is important for their care of their canine crime-fighting partners.

 

Apart from lectures and workshops, Hon. ASP (V) Tong is also a strong believer of on-the-job training. He often encourages and allows the Para-vets and Kennel Hands to observe and participate in various treatment procedures which range from treating and stitching up of deep cuts, to dentistry procedures such as scaling, under his close supervision.

 

“When we visit a general practitioner, we are able to tell him what we feel. However, the dogs are unable to and therefore, it is important to enable the handlers to learn how to pick up these signs,” elaborated Hon. ASP (V) Tong who has a Bachelor in Animal Sciences and a Post- Graduate degree in Veterinary Medicine.

 

Simplifying Challenges
However, getting the medical terms across to the officers is not always the easiest thing to do. The key challenge that Hon. ASP (V) Tong often encounters during his training sessions is the simplification of veterinary terminology into bite size and easy to digest information. “Gastric dilatation” and “Volvulus” (bloating of the stomach) is one of the many medical jargons that Hon. ASP (V) Tong struggles to articulate in layman terms.
 

“No point presenting a complex medical term which requires a high degree of skill to resolve. It will not be remembered or attempted by most officers, even myself included,” he quipped.

 

So, to help the officers understand, he came up with the example of imagining that the dog’s stomach is a soccer ball that gets overinflated with air and its associated signs and dangers. It was a simple example but it worked!

 

Another challenge that Hon. ASP (V) Tong faces is the tight operational schedule of the officers, which affects the scheduling and participation of the training sessions. Recognising the importance and value of such training for its officers, the Police K-9 Unit has extended its fullest support to make suitable arrangements so that the officers are still able to fulfil their duties and also have time to attend the trainings.

 

Owing to Hon. ASP (V) Tong’s dedicated efforts in improving the effectiveness of the officers and the well-being of their canine partners, the Police K-9 Unit is better poised to support and strengthen the SPF’s mission of safeguarding Singapore every day, whilst ensuring animal welfare is adhered to at all times!

 

4 MAIN BREEDS OF DOGS USED IN THE POLICE K-9 UNIT

 

1. German Shepherd
German Shepherds are most commonly used as guard dogs due to their size, strength, controlled aggressiveness and willingness to protect, which does a good job of deterring criminals. In addition, they can track and give chase to offenders upon command by the handler.

 

2. Belgian Shepherd / Malinois

Belgian Shepherds are also commonly used as guard dogs due to their size, strength and controlled aggressiveness much like the German Shepherd. However, the Belgian Shepherd is smaller in size but faster and has a lower incidence of certain health problems.

 

3. Labrador Retriever
Labradors are best known for their amazingly accurate sense of smell which makes them ideal
detector dogs for sniffing out substances that range from narcotics to explosive materials.

 

4. English Springer Spaniel
English Springer Spaniels are also known for their acute sense of smell making them great detector dogs like the Labrador. However, unlike the Labrador, the Spaniel with its smaller body, makes it easier for them to manoeuvre around limited space such as inside the vehicles that they are searching.