Police held farewell ceremony for 11-year-old sniffer dog

11-year-old retired sniffer dog Er Teng forever left his companions and beloved immigration inspection police station in Yunnan on Nov. 29, 2019.

"You are our closest comrade-in-arms and family member, the short time you fought with us was your whole life," a policewoman wrote in Er Teng's eulogy.

Er Teng, the sniffer dog. (Photo/www.cnr.cn)

Becoming an independent sniffer dog

Er Teng, a German shepherd, was born at the police dog training base in Harbin in December 2008. On Sept. 6, 2009, he was assigned to the Daheishan immigration inspection police station in Puer city, Yunnan province, with police dog handler Zhou Bing.

Er Teng first independently discovered drugs in 2013 when a passenger car entered the country from abroad. While the police were ready to let it go, Er Teng circled the car several times and quickly got under the car to investigate further. Then, police officers heard him bark - his alarm! After careful examination of the car chassis, 3.69 kg of meth was seized.

(Photo/www.cnr.cn)

Separation with his first instructor

On Dec. 1, 2013, Er Teng saw Zhou packing, and he became distraught. When he saw Zhou carrying his bags to the car, he rushed to bite Zhou's camouflage bag. However, he heard Zhou's familiar command, "Sit down!" Er Teng whimpered and sat down. When the car started to drive away from the police station, Er Teng chased after the vehicle.

At that time, lively Er Teng became depressed. Luckily, the new instructor took care of Er Teng, chatting with and walking him every day, and the dog's mood slowly improved.

(Photo/www.cnr.cn)

Er Teng's retirement

The high-altitude working environment and long-term and intensive work, unfortunately, meant that Er Teng suffered from digestive and skin diseases, so the decision was made to let the dog retire. After a high fever before the Spring Festival, several tumors were found on his leg. In 2018, 10-year-old Er Teng's vision, hearing and sense of smell also deteriorated with age.

Er Teng had taken part in 2,982 days of duty, inspected 240,000 pieces of luggage, searched 200,000 vehicles, and helped to hand over more than 100 kilograms of drugs, leading to the arrest of 13 suspects.

(Photo/www.cnr.cn)

Er Teng's death

Although the diseases that led to his retirement improved with rest and care, Er Teng died due to his age on Nov. 29.

(Photo/www.cnr.cn)

After Er Teng died, police officers dug a grave in a fruit forest as his final resting place. The gravestone faces the place where he used to work. On the headstone reads, "loyalty is my pledge, it is my duty to stick to it. Please let me stay here and guard the country with my comrades."