Paris: The Olympic Games will be held in Paris from 26 July to 11 August. About 10,500 athletes will be a part of the Paris Games. France has taken strict security measures to organize the Olympics safely. According to a report, 30,000 police officers will be deployed every day for the Olympics. 45,000 police officers will be deployed in the opening ceremony on the Seine River. Along with them, five-year-old Vast and three-year-old Danby have also been included in the security squad. Both these Belgian Malinois are part of the CRPF’s K9 ‘Soldiers’. 10 dogs of this squad and their handlers have been called to Paris.
10 dogs sent
10 dogs taken from various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) including CRPF, NSG, SSB, ITBP will stay in Paris for a month till August 11. These dogs will do the work of sniffing and patrolling under the supervision of French officers deployed in the security of all Olympic venues and events. The K9 teams have been sent for Olympic security at the request of the French government. This is the first international deployment of an Indian K9 unit taken from the CAPF for purposes other than disaster relief.
They have undergone rigorous training
Like Vast and Denby, the dogs of the Paris Olympic security squad have undergone rigorous training and special conditioning for their foreign assignment. Their trainers are also said to have been given basic familiarity with the French language. According to a media report, a senior CRPF official said, “Vast and Denby were trained at the CRPF’s dog breeding and training school in Taralu near Bengaluru. They have also been trained to sniff, search and patrol as part of the Paris Olympic security squad.”
They were warmly welcomed
The K9 teams were warmly welcomed in Paris by the Indian Ambassador to France and Monaco, Javed Ashraf. He posted a photo of his meeting with this post: “Proud to meet the 10-member K9 Unit from India, which is in Paris for a month to protect the Paris Olympics. Our K9 stars and handlers are doing well after the trip from India; they quickly got back to work for France’s National Day (14 July).” He remarked that he also enjoyed shaking hands with the CAPF canine soldiers.
These dogs are intelligent
Belgian Shepherd Malinois dogs are known for their agility, strength and stamina. Their dexterity, intelligence and eagerness to please are prized as police dogs. Belgian Shepherd Malinois dogs played a key role in tracking down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, before he was killed by US Navy SEALs. They also chased IS chief Abu Bakr Baghdadi into a tunnel in Idlib before he was killed.
