It has been a day of terror and trepidation in the heart of Kampala city following the morning’s double blasts next to Kooki Tower and one at Jubilee Insurance House on Parliamentary Avenue.
Following the explosions, the Uganda Police was quick to cordon off the affected streets with the canine sniffer dogs hovering around the area.
In a picture that has been circulating in the media is a security operative handling a sniffer dog that is reported to be the most expensive dog in the country.
The dog is of the English Springer Spaniel breed, which despite its small size is bred for its superior hunting abilities.
According to well-placed sources within the Uganda Police canine department, Matooke Republic has learnt that the dog sighted on today’s crime scene was acquired at over Shs70m a few years ago. It is a high-maintenance dog with specialized care and is usually flown out for medical attendance.
A Springer Spaniel trained to sniff bombs goes for about $30,000 (about Shs109m).
According to Country Living, a popular dog website, the Springer Spaniel dog is a high-end dog that would set the owner $40,000 back to raise and breed. This is approximately Shs 140m.
This sets the sniffer dog on a pedestal as the most expensive dog in the country.
According to information exclusive to Matooke Republic, the sniffing abilities are superior as it can sniff out a suspected criminal up to over 70 miles away.
Springer Spaniels are used by several government security agencies around the world to sniff drugs and bombs. The most famous of these was Buster, a legendary British dog that served five tours of war duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, with its abilities estimated to have saved over 1,000 soldiers’ lives.
Buster was trained in and specialized areas: tactical firearms support arms, explosive search, drug detection, and vehicle search.
Recruited between the ages of one and three, armed explosives search dogs, commonly referred to by civilians as sniffer dogs, complete a six-month intensive training course before they are deployed to work.