North. Diana, sniffer dog and charming asset of the drug department

Her name is Diana, she is 7 years old, and she is part of the police: the Malinois dog is one of the 6 police dogs of the Nord department. We followed her on a police operation in Lille-Fives.

Currently, every day, territorial security operations in the districts of the Lille metropolis mobilize 50 to 80 police officers from various services. Among them, a dog, Diana! “She’s 7 years old, she’s my dog. I've had her since she was 2 years old, she was abandoned by someone. Since then, she has been training. I was trained for 3 months. For the dog, the training continues a little every day,” explains his master, also a police officer. He does not let go of his leash which remains quite long.

Spot the drug

On all security operations, one of the 6 police dogs in the North is deployed, because one of the goals is to detect drugs. The dog's support is precious and very effective. Diana specializes in narcotics, other dogs are trained in explosive detection.

In Fives, Diana was first sent to a building. Then, it is on the Place de Fives and rue Pierre-Legrand that she does her job: sniffing. “When the dog marks a place, stops and insists on staying in the same place, it means there are or were drugs,” says Noémie Verdière, from the communications department of the Northern police. .

Inspect a vehicle

His police friend makes him sniff the walls, the benches, the surroundings of the statue on Place de Fives, even encouraging him to place his paws on the window sills to sniff up high.

A parked vehicle attracts his attention: the dog lingers on the back of a van and scratches the bumper with his paw. This is the sign the policeman was waiting for.

The owner is not far away, he has to open his vehicle, the dog climbs in, first in the back in the trunk, then in the front. Finally, false alarm. “It happens that people have smoked cannabis, the dog smells it but it is only the smell that remains, the dog does not know the difference. »

A business, a house

Then, towards a business on rue Pierre-Legrand: the dog enters a restaurant. Diana frantically sniffs the room, then her police officer friend opens a drinks cabinet for her to inspect. Head to the counter, where the search is thorough. Then, the kitchens, then the toilets and the cellar. The policeman even takes her in his arms so she can sniff the shelves! Yet it pulls its weight. Last act: a home. She “marks” in front of the door of a house which has several apartments. The policeman puts his hand on the handle, the door is open. He enters the stairs with the dog, inspects the floors in the common areas. Nothing to report.

Motivation: play

She's a bit of a slut, Diana, because when her master rewards her, she enjoys it a little too much. “His motivation is the game.” When she has looked carefully and spotted a suspicious smell, her master takes out a toy, a sort of stick that Diana hastens to put in her mouth. The problem is that she doesn't want to let go! “Stop Diana, stop, stop”: that’s the magic word for her to unclench her jaw on the toy. She ends up doing it but it takes several dozen stops! Her master has a little fun with it and even makes her “fly” a little while holding the stick firmly.

But Diana is tired. “It's a bit like a sprint you know, just walking a few meters, she's working, she's just sniffing, so it's tiring. There she needs to drink and rest in the car.” She has been working for about an hour and a half.

Retired ?

The retirement age for police dogs is 8 years old. At 7 years old, is Diana living her last months in the police? “We can exceed the age limit a little depending on the health of the dog.”

Given Diana's shape, we assume she will continue to sniff drugs for some time!

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