Police dog Piko (7) injured in search of avalanche – VG

One of the four-legged heroes who has worked in the landslide area in Gjerdrum is the seven-year-old police dog, Piko. On Saturday, the German Shepherd was injured walking through a window during the search. It gave him a deep gash on the right hind leg.

– Piko has a great work ethic and courage, but the dog handler discovered that she was bleeding from her leg, Anita Bjørnbakk, section chief of the dog and horse service in the Oslo police district, tells VG Gunn.

Due to the deep cut, the bone had to be treated by health professionals on the spot. They stopped the bleeding and cured him before he was taken to the animal clinic.

Now Piko is on sick leave for a few weeks, until she recovers. Dogs can quickly get back on their feet, but it’s difficult to know for sure how long it will take.

Experienced service dog

– He is a partner and a very important work tool for the work we do here. Injuring a dog can be critical to the work being done, says dog sitter Kenneth Cortsen, who is Piko’s partner in rescue work.

– The seriousness of the case makes it important to use the dog. If we take the dog out here now, it will be more stressful on the other dogs, although the rolling we’ve done so far has worked very well, he continues.

In addition to being brave and diligent in his work, Piko is described as an experienced service dog, who is USAR certified. This means that they have acquired more skills, in addition to the usual training of police dogs.

Now the dog will be on sick leave for a couple of weeks, and Cortsen should try to keep the person on sick leave as quiet as possible.

– It is a small project in itself. There’s a lot of momentum in him, says Cortsen.

Three injured dogs: – Extremely demanding

Kristin Stoltenberg from the dog service in the Eastern Police District says the conditions for rescue dogs are extremely demanding.

– It is extremely difficult for dogs now. It is a landslide site with very difficult conditions. Three dogs were injured, he tells VG.

Only Piko has been reported ill, the other two dogs have been able to continue working.

– It is not only the injuries that occur that require medical assistance, but they are hit all the time in the form of falls, bumps, it is slippery, there are many sharp and physically demanding surfaces, says Stoltenberg.

When a dog scores, the handler and dog leave before specially trained USAR teams enter to prepare search conditions for the dog.

Among other things, they drill holes in the masses to give dogs a better supply of scent.

– It is a working methodology and collaboration based on the conditions on the site that will give the dogs the best possible conditions to be able to help locate where to look, says Stoltenberg.