Army Koolies

[Perry's Mum]

From the latest Koolie Club Newsletter

AUSTRALIAN ARMY KOOLIES

Standing alongside Australian troops in Afghanistan is a small group of canines doing an extraordinary job.

At any one time there are only a very small number of Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD) in-country supporting troops in the search for Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), weapons and caches. Not only are the numbers small, there is an even smaller number of them covered in merle doing this very dangerous job. These dogs are often ahead of human searchers to confirm the routes used by Australian soldiers on patrol are safe.

Currently there are three Koolies on the job in Afghanistan - Amber, Bullseye and Matilda. As Matilda is a Koolie-GSP cross, she still bears the red merle markings and the blue and brown eyes. Amber, recruited, trained and handled by SPR Shaun Laing of 2CER, is on her second tour of Afghanistan. Bullseye and Matilda are on their first deployment both being trained by LCPL B from the Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER), with Bullseye currently being handled by LCPL B.

All three Koolies have chalked up numerous operational finds consisting of IEDs, weapons and ammunition. Alongside dogs of all other breeds such as Kelpies, Labradors and various mixed working breeds, the Koolies are proving that they can match it with the best of them. Highly useful in locating dangerous articles that are invisible to the naked eye, they provide a great enhancement to the already dangerous job of searching.

These four-legged friends are considered part of the team and have numerous admirers around the camp. They often receive mail from people back home consisting of chew toys and treats. As all of these dogs have been rescued, it’s great to see them with another chance at life.

With the help of the Koolie Club of Australia we look forward to potentially recruiting more of these excellent dogs to keep as apart of ur EDD stream. Their sturdiness under pressure, boldness in almost every situation and of course their incredible good looks, make these dogs an ever-impressive part of our team.

The Army Koolie Dogs, are rescues supplied by Koolie Rescue.

[raineth]

wow that is really wonderful! Very inspirational to see rescue dogs going on to do such amazing things

[persephone]

:) thanks for that story !