‘Buzo’ gets a hero’s welcome after having pushed back infiltrators from PoK

By Sumir Kaul :

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR,

MARCHING slowly along with his buddy on a thick sheet of snow in North Kashmir, ‘Buzo’, a double-coat German Shepherd, gets a hero’s welcome after successfully having pushed back infiltrators from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) recently. ‘Buzo’, a silent sentinel of the Army, is among the more than 150 expert dogs with the military that maintain a tight vigil along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as in the hinterland.

The dogs are specialised in three wings -- Assault (who attack the enemy), Tracker (who track movements of the enemy) and Explosive Detection Dogs (who sniff explosives). The canines posted along the LoC in the heights of North Kashmir are generally ‘double-coat German Shepherds’ which are best suited for the climate, while Labradors are used in the hinterland. UK-based author Malcolm Beverley Willis, who died in 2011, had written in his book ‘The German Shepherd Dog: A Genetic History’ that double coats can serve a dual function during different times of the year. “During winter, they can keep the dogs naturally produced heat close to the skin. In summer, they can reflect the sun’s light, preventing the dog from getting too hot,” Dr Wills wrote in his book.