"We need Bruno," shouted one of the policemen after searching the three-storey
terrace house without finding anything. Within the next few minutes, Bruno and
his trainer, Adam Dawson, strolled onto the site. "We'll start with the garage,"
said Adam. Skeptical, one of the other
policemen snapped that they had already looked in the garage. Unfazed, Adam led
Bruno into the garage. Once there, Bruno looked left and right, his nostrils
flaring as he surveyed the two cars that were parked there. Suddenly, his tail
and ears went up and he set his mouth in a grim line. Dragging Adam to one of
the cars, Bruno dived under it and began to scratch excitedly at the chassis of
the engine. Policemen quickly closed in and found a box with about five
kilograms worth of drugs taped tot he underside of the car. Adam proudly patted
Bruno's head as the latter happily wagged his tail. Considering Bruno's
happiness in the present position, it was indeed hard to believe that he
had been a dog that nobody wanted. As Bruno
was a pure bred German Shepherd, his breeders initially had no difficulty in
selling him. His first owner gladly paid the hefty price for the beautiful dog
when he was just a puppy. However, as the canine grew up, he became difficult to
control. Standing on all fours, the dog reached almost up to his owner's waist
and weighed more than a hundred pounds. There was no denying that Bruno made an
excellent watchdog wince even visitors to the house initially feared the massive
dog. At heart, Bruno was a friendly and playful dog who could never keep still.
His playfulness almost tore apart his owner's home and garden, and within three
months, he was returned to his breeders.
The same thing happened in the home of his second owner where Bruno's
playfulness destroyed upholstery, lampshades and even priceless vases. Bruno was
then sent to two dog trainers who refused to tolerate any nonsense and tried to
correct the dog's bad habits with severe punishments. After this, Bruno was
dumped into a dog shelter where he became
listless. The punishments had caused Bruno to become fearful and he lacked
confidence. Moreover, he refused to trust anyone. as far as the shelter was
concerned, Bruno's last option was to be trained as a patrol dog and Daniel, a
dog trainer, was called in to see if Bruno would respond to training.
Daniel was different from Bruno's previous two trainers. He believed in a
more positive approach to training and believed in cultivating a dog's
independence and spirit. Bruno's training began with Daniel trying to gain the
dog's trust. Weeks were spent just walking and playing with Bruno until he
regained his confidence and his playfulness. Only after this did the drug
training begin. |