On a day which traditionally honors Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
officers and personnel for their exemplary services, a Labrador named
“Bosh” stole the spotlight for its role in the agency’s search and
rescue (SAR) operations in Bohol that was struck by devastating
earthquake last year.
The dog drew considerable attention from everyone, including
President Benigno Aquino III, as the breakout star of the 113th PCG
anniversary celebration yesterday.
“Bosh was responsible for the retrieval of four bodies buried under
landslides caused by an earthquake in Bohol,” said Petty Officer 3
Zandro Fred Jizmundo.
The Labrador, one of the canines that underwent a 10-month training
at the PCG K-9 Unit training facility in Taguig City, received the SAR
medal and ribbon.
He was one of the the 25 PCG awardees and drew the most attention from the media.
The dog graduated last year and was trained for the Coast Guard K-9
Unit on SAR and cadaver search together with Hermes, a Belgian Malinois;
Buddy and German, Golden Retrievers; Mica, a Belgian Malinois; and
Puppy, a German Shepherd.
Jizmundo said Bosh is no stranger to search and rescue work and his deployment in Bohol was his second.
“He had already joined in the search and rescue operation in
Compostela Valley where 14 cadavers were recovered,” the dog’s handler
said.
The PCG started to train dogs in 2001 for rescuing survivors and
locating bodies of victims to expand their expertise beyond sniffing out
explosives and illegal drugs.
From 10 canines, Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said
the number of their working dogs in K-9 unit expanded to 205 to help in
their operations.
“They are important to the Coast Guard. Aside from search and rescue,
they have many accomplishments such as detecting illegal drugs and
chemicals,” he said.
