Скачать или смотреть Departed but not lost: Meet Karnataka’s first advanced scent detectors

Jackie and Perry, two Belgian Malinois canine officers, have become the first in Karnataka to receive training in advanced scent detection, which will allow these nine-month-old pups to locate those deceased following a catastrophic event or natural disaster. Happiest Health visited the training ground where these canines showcased their skills in detecting and tracking specific scents.

The Belgian Malinois is usually preferred by law enforcement agencies and army units across the world. They are renowned for guarding the White House and were also part of the operation that neutralized Osama bin Laden.

“Post every natural disaster, canines play a crucial role in locating people that are usually buried under 15–20 feet of rubble and even under water, making them difficult to trace. For the first time in Karnataka, we have got two dogs that are being trained for cadaver recovery,” said the Dog Squad Inspector of Karnataka State Police, Purushotham T, who oversees the training and welfare of all 65 canines present in the City Armed Reserve (CAR) campus in Adugodi.

Pups being trained to detect scents up to 20 feet deep

The two pups were brought to the CAR in December 2024 when they were just 50 days old. They were then trained in basic obedience and discipline. “We use positive reinforcement, where playtime and toys are used as a reward to motivate the dogs to carry out the assigned tasks,” said Inspector Purushotham.

Jackie’s handler, Puneeth, and Perry’s handler, Uday, train the two canines every day to make them adept at scent imprinting — the foundational step to create a positive association with cadaver scents. They are then taken to different environments so that they can locate the scents they have imprinted.

Vijendra Babu, an instructor in the cadaver training team in CAR, said that the two pups have undergone four months of scent conditioning thus far, during which they have been trained to associate certain scents (like that of clotted human blood and extracted teeth) with memory-based cues. “We still have three more months of training, during which they will be given imported artificial scents of the cadaver, followed by familiarizing the real cadaver scent through hospital mortuary visits,” he added.

At present, the two pups can locate human teeth and blood buried under two feet. Once the training is complete, they will be able to sniff out individuals buried as deep as 20 feet or more.

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