Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — A labrador retriever who failed to become a drug-sniffing dog because he was overly friendly and playful has won hearts across Taiwan for his detection work in the aftermath of last week’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
Chris Lau and Wayne Chang, CNNRoger takes part in a search operation following the powerful Taiwan earthquake. A labrador retriever who failed to become a drug-sniffing dog because he was overly friendly and playful has won hearts acrossRescue dogs play a crucial role in helping to locate both stranded people and bodies, and teams of capable canines were quickly deployed by Taiwanese authorities after last Wednesday’s deadly tremor.
While other dogs also played similar roles and were paraded for the media, Roger captured the island’s imagination — partly because of his backstory of an initial career failure.Roger was born into a training center for drug-sniffing dogs. But his love for fun, food and people got the better of him, distracting his ability to pay attention and react to his trainers’ commands, CNA reported.
Chen Chih-san, captain of the rescue dog unit of the Kaohsiung Fire Department, told reporters that Roger was transferred to the rescue training school when he was 1 year old.“I’m not saying he was not good or that he didn’t get along with others. But the requirement for narcotic detection dogs is that they can’t be too restless and independent,” Chen said.The dogs have provided some much needed relief for Taiwan’s social media in the aftermath of the quake.
Roger is now something of an earthquake veteran. CNA said he had taken part in seven operations during his career, including a debut mission in the aftermath of a deadly 6.4-magnitude quake that hit the same region in 2018.
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