Chapter 438: Anecdotes about Police Dogs
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Apart from the safety concerns, another reason that the superiors did not allow police dogs to stay outside the police dog unit overnight was probably because they were worried that the precious genes of these expensive purebred German Shepherds, which cost about 30,000 to 50,000 yuan per dog, would be gifted to the public for free.
Zhang Zian was very sympathetic to the police dogs and their owners, but there was nothing he could do to help. After all, this was an internal matter in the police dog unit. As an outsider, he had no right to interfere. Often, administrative orders often outweighed regulations.
Liu squatted and patted on Prince’s back to comfort it. “Prince, your owner will come to visit you tomorrow, don’t worry.” He also pointed to Zhang Zian and said, “Listen to Brother Zhang’s commands. Finish the shooting as early as possible and return to your owner.” Prince nodded like it had understood his words. Liu said the same words to Red Dragon.
After that, Liu touched his face. He put his hand to his nose and sniffed. He asked in confusion, “Why is there the smell of beef?”
Red Dragon happily shook its tail, and Zhang Zian replied on behalf of it, “It just ate stewed beef with potato. Is that all right?”
“Wow!” Liu enviously patted Red Dragon’s neck. “Amazing! Your food is better than mine!”
Speaking of this, Zhang Zian inquired about the issue of dog food. Liu validated the words of Sun Xiaomeng—that when in the police dog unit, the police dogs mainly ate homemade feed, which was nutritionally balanced and cheap, and that they only ate finished grain feed when going out to perform tasks.
The quality of average finished pellet feed could not be guaranteed, while the high-end feed was unaffordable. The budget allocated to the police dog unit was limited each year, and no manufacturers wanted to bid to work with the police dogs when the profit was too low. Budget makers had slow or no reaction to the fluctuations of market price, and the budget remained the same every year.
Austerity must be practiced considering the tight budget, and priority was given to ensure food for police dogs, who ate even better than humans. Besides, the dog trainers also used their own money to secretly buy extra chicken legs to feed their dogs, which was also forbidden. Though the rules were rigid and harsh, humans were flexible and had feelings. Liu couldn’t stop when he started complaining. He knew that Zhang Zian was someone that Sheng Ke trusted, so he confided in him honestly.
Famous could understand most of their words. Even if there were some strange nouns, it could usually guess the meaning. It rubbed Red Dragon and Prince to show its sympathy. Red Dragon and Prince bowed their heads and whimpered, as if talking about the injustice and grievances their owners suffered from.
After a while, Liu looked at the watch and said, “Brother Zhang, it’s getting late, let’s get in the car. I will need to return to the unit after dropping you off.”
“Thank you.” Zhang Zian and three German Shepherd got in the car one by one.
While driving on the road, Liu shared some anecdotes about the police dogs, which Zhang Zian had never heard before, and was fascinated by.
Liu said, “Zhang, do you know why we sent the police dogs in groups to the audition?” Zhang Zian hadn’t really thought about this before. He speculated and said, “Is it because if all the dogs went to the audition at the same time, there would be no dogs available for the police dog unit if they were needed?”
Liu shook his head. “That was partly why, but that’s not the main reason. Most of the dogs in the police dog brigade are German Shepherds, but there are factions among these German Shepherds. Some are close friends, and some see others as enemies. There is competition among these factions. This is the case with the police dogs. As for us, the police dog handlers, although we don’t see each other as friends or enemies, some are closer to each other, while the rest are somewhat estranged.”
“Oh, then you and Wang went to the audition together because you were friends?” Zhang Zian thought he understood a bit.
“We came from the same village.” Xiao Liu explained, “Red Dragon and Prince are friends. If they were not, problems would occur when they carry out tasks together. Once a dispute arises among the police dogs, they’ll fight until there’s an outcome. The loser will lie on the ground, revealing their vulnerable belly in surrender.”
Zhang Zian understood that dogs were gregarious animals, whose internal hierarchy was very strict, and that the weak would surrender to the strong. It seemed that their instincts couldn’t be destroyed by the stringent training in the police dog training base.
Liu glanced affectionately at Red Dragon and said, “Don’t think they are just dogs. They have a sense of pride and honor, like us police officers. If their enemies are taken out to perform duties, and they’re left in the training base, they will be restless all day long, barking and running around in the kennel, even losing their appetite.”
Speaking of this, Liu laughed. “Zhang, you know what? Red Dragon and Prince’s neighbors in the kennel, the other two German Shepherds, were restless and couldn’t sleep because Red Dragon and Prince were gone for a whole day. Their trainers comforted them for a long time before they fell asleep. This morning, they all had dark circles! Haha!” It was obvious that although Liu was distressed and anxious because Red Dragon and Prince were not around him, he also felt happy and proud for them, as if watching his own children majke something of themselves.
“Oh, right!” Liu patted his head. “I’m just sharing some anecdotes, I almost forgot about the serious matter!” He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Lucky that I remembered, otherwise there might be grave consequences!”
“What serious matter?” Zhang Zian was surprised and listened attentively. He thought that Liu was only here to visit Red Dragon and Prince. What was he going to say?
“Zhang, police dogs are usually very gentle, and will not attack unless they are provoked. That’s why Wang and I are confident with you taking care of them. But there is one thing you must pay attention to during filming!” Liu gulped. “In the face of suspicious circumstances, they will suddenly become extremely fierce, effectively deterring criminals!”
“What are the suspicious circumstances when shooting a movie?” Zhang Zian was even more confused.
Liu said nervously, “They have received anti-riot training and they can recognize what guns look like. Once they see a guns, even without the command from their owner, they will rush towards the gunman and bite their hand, refusing to open their mouth! We are worried that if someone in the crew takes out a prop gun…”
Holy s**t! Zhang Zian was covered with sweat after hearing this! He turned to look at the red tongues and white fangs of Red Dragon and Prince. The bite force of a German Shepherd was about 100 kg. If bitten by their fangs, there might be holes on one’s hands, and even the carpal bones may be crushed!
After two days of feeding them, Red Dragon and Prince had grown more familiar with Zhang Zian. They were sticking out their red tongues, tilting their heads, and looking at Zhang Zian who was covered in cold sweat.
“Thanks for reminding me, Liu, before something bad happens.” Zhang Zian was so frightened. He remembered that many guns were used in the script. Whether it was international criminals or poachers, these people would confront or fight the border guards and police officers, so scenes with guns were inevitable. During the filming, if someone took out a prop gun, and Red Dragon and Prince ran over and bit him out of their conditioned reflexes, who was going to shoulder the responsibility?
Liu said, “Not long ago, a handler in our unit took his police dog out for a routine duty. When patrolling a remote neighborhood at midnight, he saw a suspicious shadow climbing out of a window from a house, and carrying a bag. The police officer felt something was strange, so he led the police dog to stop the figure, and interrogate him. That person was probably guilty, and he aimed a gun at the police officer. Without orders from the handler, the dog leapt towards that man and bit his hand. The police officer rushed to get over the gun, which turned out to be fake.”
Tut! Zhang Zian felt sorry for that man. How painful was the bite?
“Later, the man was escorted to the police station. After interrogation, as it turned out, he was a thief, regularly committing burglaries or even robberies in various surrounding urban and rural areas. Bold and cautious, he had never been caught. Even when he woke up the homeowners while committing a burglary in the middle of the night, he just needed to take out his fake gun. The homeowners would be too scared to call the police. He had never expected that he would be stopped by a police dog.” Although Liu had not apprehended the thief himself, he felt honored talking about it.
