Once he sniffed the small white box placed in the corner of the room, Maggie sat patiently beside it, waiting for the back-up team.
Maggie sniffs a suspicious-looking box placed in a corner of the MRTA’s Thailand Cultural Centre station during a demonstration. (Photo by Jiraporn Kuhakan)
"He's calling for support," said Manaschai Sriumporn, security head for the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand and head of its Safety Unit 3. The box was hidden to test Maggie's ability to detect and identify different substances.
The cute four-year-old Labrador Retriever — friendly, intelligent and with an incredibly sensitive nose — is a member of the MRTA's canine bomb detection unit. Its soft coat, clear shiny eyes and good nature can only delight passengers.
Last week, the Bangkok Post observed the MRTA’s canine unit at a demonstration of the animal's amazing skills at the Thai Cultural Centre subway station. The stars were Maggie and Baggie, a one-year-old Beagle.
Established more than a decade ago, the dog unit under the MRTA’s Security and Safety Unit 3 is the first and only organisation — apart from the police and the military — to have a canine bomb detection unit. The unit was formed in 2004 to supplement security efforts for commuters using the trains during New Year celebrations at a time when there were widespread rumours of Bangkok being targeted for bomb attacks.
The MRTA sought assistance from the air force, asking it to send a team of sniffer dogs to find explosives that might have been planted near stations. Realising the unique abilities of the sniffer dogs in helping to keep people safe, the MRTA decided to set up its own canine detection unit.
The unit is comprised of nine handlers who take care of 18 sniffer dogs — 13 Labrador Retrievers, three American Shepherds and two beagles. But only nine of them are fully trained and active in sniffing out explosives, Mr Manaschai said, adding some were getting old and their sense of smell becoming less keen.
Tanapop Phulkasem, Baggie's handler, said the dog had to go through an advanced training programme after he completed basic obedience standards.
Handlers and dogs attend the four-month canine training programme at the Military Working Dogs Battalion in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district, which trains the animals to protect the mass transit system and to detect contraband, illegal drugs and explosives.
At the beginning, a dog is paired with a soldier who trains it in basic obedience standards — sitting, standing, waiting, declining, laying down and so on. In the intensive training course, they learn to recognise explosives including TNT and alert their handlers.
The MRTA buys the bomb sniffer dogs and puts them through the training course after they show potential to protect, detect explosives and work well with a handler, Mr Manaschai said. The dog is usually one of the friendly breeds as they need to work at train stations where there are passengers of all ages.
More beagles are being brought into the team as they look friendlier. The Labrador Retrievers and American Shepherds, despite being intelligent and easily trained, are less sought after as they are larger and stronger and can sometimes intimidate passengers.
The bomb detection dogs and handlers are usually stationed at the team's office at the Thai Cultural Centre station between 7am and 11pm and are on standby at MRTA headquarters on Rama IX Road outside those hours, Mr Manaschai said.
“If we are alerted to a suspicious-looking item at a station, we hop on a train to that place to check it out,” he said.
In the past, he added, the dogs and handlers were on patrol at every station on a daily basis. However, the MRTA became concerned about the dogs' health and decided to lead them out on missions only.
Dogs become easily exhausted on daily patrol. Walking on slippery floors at the stations can hurt them in the long run, Mr Manaschai said, adding that problems can develop with their hip bones from carrying their body weight for long periods.
Being a handler and directing an explosives-detecting dog is not a job for everyone. But Mr Patipat didn't hesitate for a moment when offered the job as he loves dogs and is familiar with working with them.
Mr Patipat said he fell in love with Maggie at first sight because of his attractive looks but he admitted it took time to learn from each other. "Maggie and I had the chemistry, and the rest was history," he said.
The dogs must be a year old before they can be trained to detect a bomb and their career usually spans about seven years. They may be retired early if they develop health problems such as arthritis or cancer, Mr Manaschai said.
The department continues to look after the retired dogs until they die or they are adopted by animal lovers. Animals are not allowed to be sold as they are considered a weapon, he said.
A Labrador Retriever for example loves people and really wants to serve, so it can be a good companion, he said.
Devoting their energy and bodies to duty, the dogs are rewarded with good meals and care, Mr Patipat said. They are fed tasty meals that have the right nutrients needed for growth and health. They are also encouraged to engage in outdoor exercise and play every day.
The department spends about 500,000 baht on dog food each year, he said. The dogs' weight and health is monitored closely as being too heavy could affect their performance.
Mr Manaschai said it was sensible to have detection dogs as part of the MRTA’s safety and security efforts. The dogs are experts at sniffing out potential threats, but luckily they have not encountered a real bomb situation yet.
“We feel at ease with them. They are happy-go-lucky. They are our four-legged friends,” he said.