Nepal Earthquake: Meet NDRF’s canine heroes Golu and Tanu

“We do use locator cameras to find any person alive or dead, but nothing beats the senses of these dogs. They have been trained in disaster management and are extremely good at sniffing out bodies,” says O P Singh, DG, NDRF.

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The two canines were trained at Mundli in Orissa by experts from the Swiss Centre for Development and Cooperation.

“She never fails us. The machine can fail us but she will not. She has been specially trained and has an excellent track record,” Tanu’s handler Kure Lahudas says.

The dogs are fed twice a day. “I have got dog food for her. She never disobeys me. She might be very tired but even then she never refuses to perform her duty. Jaan deke bhi order poora karegi,” says Lahudas.

Golu’s handler Radha Krishan echoes the sentiment. “I just have to give the command: ‘go, find’. He gets on the job and never fails. Even today, he detected four bodies among the rubble. He barks at a particular place and we knew where to look. It makes our job easier,” says Krishan.

Just then, the canines are called in for another task. “We want to segregate and mark places where work can begin immediately. For this, these dogs are the best bet,” says Randeep Rana, DIG, NDRF.

On Tuesday, the NDRF flew in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to locate trapped bodies on multi-storey buildings.

“There are several buildings which did not collapse completely. Only the ground floor collapsed while other floors are hanging dangerously. We fear some people could be trapped there too. Since we cannot go there as it is unsafe, its better to use the UAV,” said the operator V Narayanan, who has come from Pune.