If people can overcome life's setbacks through hard work, so can a stray dog.
Customs authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai said a dog found on the streets will be offered sniffer services from January next year.
Nick will be the first of this origin to join the Shanghai Customs after having passed all the required tests at the end of November., customs officials said.
The black and white Springer Spaniel was a "skinny and atrophied dog, battered by the rain"when he was found in June by Cheng Baolin, a trainer with the Shanghai Customs.
«He was chasing my car when I was driving to the dog training center", Cheng said. "He jumped into my vehicle as soon as I opened the door, so I gave him a ride.
Cheng Baolin and dog “Nick”. Photo: Eastday
Cheng named the dog after Nick, a former canine colleague of his. At first, he wondered whether the one-year-old dog, with a keen sense of smell for his breed and a persevering and friendly character, could be turned into another “Nick” through training.
To his surprise, the dog proved to be very talented.It usually takes us two years or more to train a sniffer dog.", said. "But Nick passed the test after about two months of training!", according to Cheng.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived. A total of 60 dogs took part in the annual tests that assess their ability to follow instructions and detect suitcases with suspicious smells. Only about 60 percent of them, including Nick, passed.
There are currently about 30 sniffer dogs working at Shanghai's airports, cruise ship terminals, train stations and international mail processing centres.
In the first 11 months of 2019, animals helped intercept more than 17.000 prohibited items, according to Shanghai Customs.
A spokesman for the city's customs authorities said hiring Nick was part of a new approach to rescuing and caring for stray dogs and was part of their animal protection responsibilities.
Source: Xinhua
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