She first months of life will have been nothing but abandonment. Stay has experienced the street, the pound, the SPA of Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, experienced the false joys of two adoptions with, each time, a return to the sender for “incompatibility” with the home.
Her dog character is thus made, the 3-year-old Malinois bears no grudge towards humans: since October 2022, she has been serving the populations within the gendarmerie, assigned to the DGA Missile Testing in Biscarrosse.
Nothing was sewn with white thread, everything was done thanks to a link. The one that dogs know how to weave with humans. For Stay, it was with Chief Warrant Officer Frédéric, responsible for the canine teams of the armaments gendarmerie.
Found on the street
At the end of summer 2022, the soldier, dog owner since 2007, has just lost his Malinois, Haggler. He is looking for a successor. “I went to the SPA in Saint-Pierre-du-Mont. They had this Malinoise that they didn't know much about. She was found in the street, unidentified. She was barely a year old. »
Stay, Belgian Malinoise shepherd, poses proudly with his harness from the armament gendarmerie.
Philippe Salvat / SO
The chief warrant officer, who wishes to specialize the animal in the search for narcotics, weapons, ammunition and bank notes (SAMBi), asks to see the dog, to verify certain criteria. To be able to carry out the missions intended for her, Stay “must be sociable because she must come into contact with humans, and she must have enough pugnacity so that she does not tire of her research”. And above all, she should be playful. “All work involves play,” explains the soldier. The more playful the dog, the easier it will be. The toy is his reward. »
“The more playful the dog, the easier it will be”
An easy criterion to check: the policeman takes several bullets, plays with Stay and quickly detects his favorite object. “I started playing little games of hide to test her olfactory level. » Grassy areas, then increasingly difficult caches. “I wanted to see how far she could go and how long she could persist in research. » The man smells the right recruit. “It worked,” he confirms.
A testing phase
The gendarme first carried out a provisional adoption in her name, over a week, and took the Malinoise to the site, in Biscarrosse, where three other gendarme dogs were already working. “I took the time to test her well to check that any possible traumas did not resurface during the work, given that we knew nothing about her past. You have to be very humble in training: what will work with one dog will not work with another. You have to adapt and question yourself regularly. »
“You have to be very humble in education, adapt and question yourself regularly”
The chief warrant officer took Stay to the market, in town, took her through all the buildings on the DGA site, put her in contact with vehicles, “to see where her limits were”. The introductions are made and successful with the dog master's first dog, Nashua, an older Malinois, specialized in the search for explosives, given to the gendarmerie by her former owners who could no longer take care of her.
Philippe Salvat / SO
The master and the dog form an inseparable pair.
As the days go by, the play and research phases follow one another. In every room, in all the little moments of life. “The more we got into work, the more she liked it,” remembers the gendarme. Stay progresses as quickly as she becomes attached to her new master. There is no longer any doubt that she will not return to the SPA.
“The more we got into work, the more she liked it”
“I made an adoption in my name and I started training the dog,” continues the soldier. Once she had a fairly solid foundation, I presented her to the National Police Dog Training Center, in Gramat (46), to get her approval so that she could enter training. »
Philippe Salvat / SO
Stay specializes in the search for narcotics, weapons, ammunition and banknotes.
Agreement obtained. In the space of a month and a half, the former street dog became a police dog. The chief warrant officer must donate the Malinoise to the gendarmerie, so that she can fully embrace her career. After a two-week internship, in October 2022, in Gramat with his master, his training is validated. “Since then, she has worked with us on the DGA site. »
“An inseparable pair”
However, its missions go beyond the scope of the Biscarrosse site. “The dog is above all a policeman,” underlines Captain Philippe, commander of the weapons gendarmerie brigade. Even if he works for the benefit of the DGA, he can reinforce other gendarmerie units with his master. Always. It’s an inseparable pair. » Stay is thus led to stick her nose into rave parties, various searches and even road checks.
At 3 years old, the Malinois has not yet acquired all its stripes. “We consider that a dog is at the peak of its career at 6 years old,” continues Chief Warrant Officer Frédéric. But he learns all his life. It must be stimulated. We are working on the search for materials, on the complexity of the caches, on the quantities. We always manage to find something to surprise him. »
As for the retirement age, for canines too, it can be pushed back. “Dogs can be reformed from 8 years old, but we can keep them up to 10 years old. It is the military veterinarian who determines this. As long as he has resources and wants them, there is no reason to retire him. »
Recently, Stay returned to the Saint-Pierre-du-Mont SPA, alongside her master and the dog team. “We had badges made which we sold to colleagues and collectors. We went to give the recipe for around a hundred euros and some equipment to the SPA, which allowed us to give news of the dog,” explains the chief warrant officer. And this time, Stay didn't stay.
Police dog: varied recruitment
Nearly 300 dogs are tested each year with a view to joining the gendarmerie, but only around a hundred are selected to be trained at the gendarmerie's National Dog Training Center in Gramat. Initially, the dogs come either from individuals who want to part with their animal, or from breeders. The SPA has been added to the usual recruitment channels. The gendarmerie signed an agreement with the association, allowing certain abandoned dogs to pursue a military career.
As for the breeds, we find 90% of the Malinois, “Swiss army knife of the dog master” because of its endurance, its playful character close to its master, and its crossing abilities. German shepherds and other breeds such as the springer diversify the military ranks.
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