Monkeys, Chihuahuas, and cats — oh my! Mental Floss' Jill Harness honors the brave animals who vowed to protect and serve
1. Momo, Chihuahua, Nara Police Department, Japan
We're used to seeing large police dogs because, let's face it, a lap dog can't take down a running fugitive. But there are a lot of other duties for police dogs out there — and a pup doesn't have to be big to sniff out bombs, drugs, or people buried under rubble. So why not have some small dogs work in these specialized areas?
The Japanese made news last year when they hired a tiny little Chihuahua as the Nara Police Department's newest police dog. Momo passed her search and rescue test with flying colors by finding a person within five minutes after smelling their hat. While the little pup might not be able to drag anyone from the rubble, officers do point out that her size provides her with a major advantage when it comes to squeezing into small openings that would be too narrow for most rescue dogs. Of course, in between earthquakes and fires, she's still doing good community service by looking absolutely adorable.
2. Mattie, black lab, Connecticut State Police, United States
When it comes to arson investigations, dogs are better at sniffing out accelerants than most of the investigator's instruments. But the idea of using dogs for that task is still pretty new; the first dog, a black lab named Mattie, was put to work in 1986. In order to graduate from Accelerant Detection Canine School, which is run by the ATF, she had to be able to identify 17 different types of accelerants in a fire's aftermath, even when there were only a few drops of the compounds. (Dogs and their handlers can only pass if they have a perfect score in the final test.)
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Mattie was placed in service with the Connecticut State Police that same year. While waiting for fires to be put out, she would be brought out to the scene, where she would sniff at any onlookers. In many cases, Mattie was able to identify suspects in the crowd who still had residue from the accelerants on them. Mattie worked with the state police for 11 years before retiring in 1997.
3. Lemon, cat, Kyoto Police Department, Japan
If you think a Chihuahua is a bad police dog, then just imagine having a police cat. To be fair, Officer Lemon operates in a small town in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, which has a population made up of mostly elderly folks, and his only cases involve suspicious phone calls. Lemon doesn't help track down the prank callers, but he does help relax the victims — an important job for police handling these kinds of situations.
Lemon has been with the police since he was two weeks old. Of course, that's probably why he's so comfortable in his adorable little uniform; most cats that grew up without clothing probably wouldn't be so willing to wear the tiny jacket and hat that Lemon sports while on duty.
4. Santisuk, macaque monkey, Saiburi Police Department, Thailand
This officer might monkey around a bit, but you'd still better take him seriously — no matter how cute he looks in his little police shirt. Santisuk, a pig-tailed macaque, was adopted by a police officer after he was found with a broken arm. They soon started training him to pick up coconuts and then they realized that he might just help alleviate tensions at police checkpoints.
Their plan worked. When Santisuk stands duty at the checkpoints, motorists happily stop their vehicles and many even pull over to take their picture with the monkey. He has changed the public image of the police force so much that many other police precincts in the area are considering adding their own monkeys to the force.
5 & 6. Echo, horse, Metropolitan Police Department, and Sefton, horse, Household Cavalry, United Kingdom
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Echo and Sefton are probably the best remembered police horses, and it's for a rather sad reason.
The horses were survivors of the July 20, 1982 bombing of Hyde Park. A car bomb — made from 25 pounds of explosives surrounded in 4- and 6-inch nails — killed four soldiers and seven other horses. Echo, part of the Metropolitan Police Department, was left was a piece of shrapnel in his side. Household Cavalry horse Sefton had 38 shrapnel wounds, and his jugular vein was severed. Another Cavalry horse, Yeti, also survived the blast. After the incident, Echo, too nervous to go back to the police department, was retired from duty. Sefton did go back to work for a bit, but eventually, all three horses were retired at the same stable, where they would live for the rest of their lives. When the horses made public appearances, people were touched — Echo and Sefton even received a standing ovation when they appeared at the Horse of the Year show.
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