After an eight-year stint with the Metro Police K9 unit, two of the dogs have clocked out for the last time.
The Metro Police K9 Unit has bid farewell to two of its furry members.
K9s Flynn and Kubla Khani handed in their badges after eight years of service with the unit.
The dogs have been adopted by two handlers in the K9 unit – Constables Sharone Larry and Constable Clinton Adams – so they’ll remain part of the K9 family.
Both dogs were born in 2011, and acquired by the Metro Police Department in 2013.
K9 Flynn was trained to protect, but also to detect explosives.
His biggest bust came in 2015, when he led officers to hand grenades, a mortar and R5 magazines and ammunition buried in an open field in Montana.
‘Although he was excellent at his job, Flynn could also be very stubborn. When he got distracted, you couldn’t get anything out of him, particularly on hot days. But he would delight bystanders with his impressive bite work during our K9 education and awareness shows. Flynn will be dearly missed, but we thank him for his hard work,’ said his handler, Sergeant Celestina Temmis.
Kubla Khani picked up an injury during training, which meant that she could not pursue active duty, but she remained part of the team.
‘She has a very good temperament and is extremely intelligent. Khani’s been known to make her presence felt, having disrupted more than a few meetings with her morning bark,’ said Instructor, Teryl Koen.
The Metro Police K9 unit currently has 19 active K9s and two in training.
‘The unit was established as part of safety and security planning for the 2010 soccer World Cup and has scored numerous goals since, with countless successes. We are immensely proud of the work being done by the K9 unit, and we also thank K9s Flynn and Khani for their contribution to the team’s success,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Source: City Of Cape Town