Ace sniffer Diana goes on maternity leave

HYDERABAD: Diana is a proud mother of quadruplets. And she has cast aside her duty of ensuring VVIP protection, including that of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. For Diana, a star sniffer K-9 of the VVIP security wing of the police, is on a two and a half month maternity leave.
“She is a very very dedicated mother,� says Sudeep Laktakia, inspector general of police, security, under whose control falls the canine squad of the VVIP security wing of the police.But motherhood for Diana, did not come easy. She had to undergo a cesarean 12 days ago for there were some complications.
But Diana does not know what is in store for her pups. Her masters, however, know. “These are the first of a scientifically bred pups that will be trained to be like their mother. We want to raise our own kennels, breed the best of the dogs and train them,� says Laktakia.
With VIP and VVIP movement very high in AP, the demand for the sniffer dogs is huge in the state. “This is a resource that can multiply. Earlier, the breeding instincts of our dogs used to be suppressed. Then we decided why not turn this natural instinct into a resource,� Laktakia says.
With a 85 per cent success rate in detecting explosives, Diana, a thoroughbred Labrador, stands tall among her K-9 colleagues in the state. “She can even detect small bits of explosives buried under one and a half feet in the ground,� says K Anja Rao, SP, security wing with a twinge of pride in his voice.
“The VIPs face the biggest threat from explosives and bombs. And dogs, with their highly developed vision, sense of smell and hearing, are the best bet for sniffing out explosives,� says Laktakia.