| Sports |
Lloyd is laid to rest
By SHEILA LASIBORI
In February last year the two daily papers published stories about
11-year-old German Shepard Lloyd, who had retired from the Police
Force and was going to be put to rest through lethal injection.
The story raised concern from animal organizations and readers who
did not want to see such a valiant member of the force put down.
So Lloyd's life was spared and he was adopted by the family of his
handler Constable Richard Kelola to live out his retirement
On April 1 Lloyd passed away at the Port Moresby Veterinary Clinic
due to old age.
A week before Lloyd died he developed severe complications in its
lungs, liver, heart and esophagus.
Constable Kelola rushed the dog to the clinic but nothing could be
done to save him.
Lloyd died at the age of 13.
Liord had lived beyond the life expectancy for its breed - German
shepherds - which is 10 to 12 years.
Lloyd and Constable Kelola met when Liord was just a year old
after arriving from Australia to join the eight-member 1996 police
dog intake at the RPNGC Dog School at Bomana, Port Moresby.
Constable Kelola from Trobriand Island in Milne Bay province was
assigned to handle Lloyd.
The black German shepherd - with patches of faded brown fur - a
typical color of the breed - quickly responded to training and
handling tactics.
Const Kelola had said it took him only six weeks to train him
while the other dogs took about 12 weeks.
"I have been with him. We have worked together...we have gone
through difficult situations and risky situations too and he at
some time saved my life," Mr Kelola had said.
According to policies covering service dogs in the RPNGC, Lloyd
was to be put to rest through lethal injection on January 28, last
year but this was delayed because the vet clinic was out of stock
of the euthanasia drug.
The policies also disallows police dogs to be leased out or given
to civilians because the dogs would not be given the same
treatment and care they receive at the institute.
Police dogs also died of loneliness when they found that they
could no longer be close to their handlers on a daily basis and
also putting former service dogs to rest, the RPNGC sees that it
is the honourable way for dogs who have achieved a lot while
serving the force.
But the newspapers' publications drew concerns over the animal's
life from the public and organisations and forced the Dog School
to bend some of its policies regarding retired service dogs and
allowed Const Kelola to take the animal home.
As a result Const Kelola and his family were able to spend at
least another year with Lloyd.
"I'm going to miss him. For almost 10 years I have been with him.
Losing him is heart breaking for me. He is like a best friend to
me," soft-spoken Const Kelola had said back in 2006.
Like most German shepherds who had gone through the Dog School,
Lloyd was trained as a general purpose dog to specialise in
tracking, crowd control and in disarming, disabling and
apprehending law offenders.
The 13-year-old almost clocking 10 years in the Police Force from
1996 to 2005 served with loyalty and dedication to orders from the
RPNGC hierarchy, which were imparted to it by its handler.
Some of these orders were given during search and rescue
operations when Lloyd was needed to help track criminals,
especially those involved in armed robberies, hold-ups, abduction
and rape.
And during the operational duties both the dog and its handler
took risks.
Lloyd faced a near-death ordeal four years ago when it went ahead
of its handler at Laloki in search of an escapee who was serving
time for murder at the Bomana Correctional Service Institute.
The search led to them crossing the Laloki River three times.
Lloyd was cut across the face - an attack which the escapee
admitted was meant for the human companion of the dog. Const
Kelola carried his partner back to the main road and rushed it to
the vet clinic. Lloyd could have died then from loss of blood.
This attack resulted in a six months off-duty for Lloyd to
recover, while the escapee was returned to Bomana.
In 1999, on the night of January 27 at Goroka in East Highlands
province Lloyd was shot at with a .38 pistol by some armed
suspects when a rustling was heard in the bushes after the canine
and Const Kelola went after four men who had previously abducted a
woman into the bushes along Gonix Street.
Lloyd then disarmed the gunman and his companions who were armed
with bush knives.
Lloyd could have been shot but its black fur blended with the
darkness of the night and hid it from the men.
This successful operation earned the partners their first
recognition for a job well done.
Lloyd was the dog that got involved in tracking down suspects for
abduction, rape and murder of a woman along the Porebada road on
the outskirts of NCD, several years ago. The suspects were then
convicted and imprisoned, one serving life sentence whilst the
other two each serving 15 years respectively.
Lloyd also took part in controlling the crowd near the Waigani
Government offices' area in 2001 during the UPNG student-led
unrest over issues relating to privatisation.
But Const Kelola would remember Lloyd even more when the dog was
entrusted with the task to find a way out of the wilderness in the
mountains of Goroka when both were lost after tracking for 12
hours for men suspected of robbing the Lahani club.
Lloyd stumbled off a cliff almost pulling its handler with it, but
Const Kelola managed to save both their lives when he tied the
leash to a tree which supported him as he pulled Lloyd up.
Lloyd then started tracking out of the wilderness as it led its
handler who was picking wild berries for both to eat.
Const Kelola also allowed Lloyd to rest several times because he
realised that they were lost and knew that he relied on the dog to
sniff their way out.
Tired Lloyd led the way while Const Kelola kept whispering
reminders, saying "take us back...you can do it...I am relying on
you."
They reached the old Highlands Highway and a motorist gave them a
ride back to Goroka town.
Another highlight was back in 2005 during a mass prison breakout
from the Bomana Correctional Service prison where Lloyd tracked
the terraneous Laloki Mountains.
Dehydration prevented Lloyd from climbing further and the police
Eye In the Sky airlifted Lloyd and Const Kelola back home.
Lloyd succumbed to old age at about 7pm on April 1 and was laid to
rest near the Kelola home at Bomana Police College on Monday April
2.
 
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