Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works has always been an enjoyable past-time for me. In one such novel named “The hound of Baskervilles”, we are introduced to a character ‘Dr. James Mortimer’ who has a pet spaniel. The illustration of the pet spaniel intrigued me. I recognized it to be an ‘English Water Spaniel’.

On digging a little deeper, the even more interesting fact came to light. The ‘English Water Spaniel’ had long been extinct by the early 20^th century. The fact that the current dog breeds which we pet, have replaced some of the older dog breeds (in terms of evolution) has since been itching my curiosity. How many more dogs can we never get to pet again? The answer lies in the following paragraphs.

Let’s start with the ‘The English Water Spaniel’.

It was very popular in hunting waterfowl and for being able to dive like a duck. It resembles a cross between a Poodle and a Springer Spaniel or a Collie with curly fur and typically in a white and liver/tan pattern. It pre-dates the Irish Water Spaniel and has found place in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Breeds like Field Spaniel, Curly Coated Retrieve rand American Water Spaniel are said to have been genetically influenced by the English Water Spaniel.

‘The English White Terrier’.

This breed was invented in the early 1860s by a few breeders who were anxious to see a new breed from a prick-eared version of the small-white-working-terriers. This lead to the development of the Rat terrier, the Sealyham terrier, the Fox terrier, the Boston Terrier and the Jack Russell terrier.

The English white terrier breed lived for about 30 years before vanishing from this world. The ‘Bull Terrier’ is considered to be the descendent of the English White Terrier-and-English Bulldog cross. The growing unpopularity among the public due to the dog’s genetic problems lead to the unfortunate declaration the English white terrier as a mere ‘distinction without a difference’ by the Kennel Club Hierarchy.

A small note on the Kennel Club before we move onto the next breed.

It aims at preserving and protecting the dog breeds of British and Irish origin. In 2003, they started the compilation of the ‘Vulnerable Breed List’. Terrier Group has found the largest number of dogs in this list. The most drastic decline in popularity of a dog breed is seen in case of the Sealyham terrier. Alfred Hitchcock, a Hollywood director, was fond of Sealyham terrier. Approximately 1084 Sealyhams registered at the time of the registration of his first Sealyham terrier in 1938. But the annual registration amounts to a meagre average of 60 dogs.

Next comes the ‘The Otter-hound’.

It was a heart-throb for centuries when they were kept in packs at the time of Henry VIII. The British ban on otter hunting was the death sentence to this breed.

A worldwide census of Otter-hounds indicated the existence of fewer than a thousand dogs. According to the interpretation of ‘The British and Irish a Dog Breeds Preservation Trust’, the census count had made the Otter-hound “twice as rare as the Giant Panda”.

 ‘The Toy Trawler Spaniel’.

‘The Toy Trawler Spaniel’ resembled the ‘King Charles’ Spaniel’ of the 16th century. It is considered to be a descendent of the original ‘King Charles’ Spaniel’, and an older variety of ‘Sussex spaniel’.

Originally used as a sporting dog, it later became popular as a toy dog and show-dog. It was  considered extinct by early 1920’s.

‘The Paisley Terrier’

It was an extinct terrier breed from Paisley, Great Britain. Being the progenitor of today’s Yorkshire terrier, the Paisley Terrier was bred primarily as a pet and a show-dog version of the Skye terrier. It was also called the ‘Clydesdale Terrier’, named after another breeding location in the Clyde Valley.

‘The Moscow Water Dog’

The Moscow Water Dog was produced only by a state operated organization called ‘the Red Star Kennel’ which aimed at providing working dogs for the armed services.

It is also known as the Moscow Retriever, Moscow Diver, or Moskovsky Vodolaz, is a not-so-popular dog breed. This extinct dog breed is a descendent of the East European Shepherd, Newfoundland and Caucasian Ovcharka (Caucasian Shepherd).

‘The Pembroke Corgi’

Although not extinct, but this famous dog breed is one the verge of extinction. Being Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite dog, Corgis have lived with the Royal family ever since George VI saw “Dookie” and brought her home. She was entitled ‘the matriarch of the canine dynasty’ which resides in the Buckingham palace ever since. Interestingly, the Queen has been a proud owner of more than 30 Corgis excluding the current ones “Willow” and “Holly”.

We are bound to expect that the affinity of Queen towards ‘the Pembroke Corgi’ would guarantee the popularity of Corgis. Yet it is noteworthy that being a part of the royal family does not suffice to assure the sustainability of a dog breed. The Pembroke Corgi is now on the ‘vulnerability list’ of the British Kennel Club due to a scanty 241 registrations in the year 2013.

‘The Sealyham Terrier’

Similar to the case of Corgis, the Sealyham terrier was a very famous breed whose popularity dropped drastically over time. Alfred Hitchcock, a Hollywood movie director was very fond of them.

In 1938, when Alfred had brought home his first Sealyham terrier, there were about 1084 registrations per year, but now, the registrations average to about 60 dogs a year.

We pet parents often overlook the fact that dog breeds come and go as trends and needs change. Along with the above mentioned dogs, the Spanish pointer, the Long-haired Greyhound, the Turnspit dog and the European water spaniel, are all extinct. Some of the ‘vulnerable’ breeds wait at ‘the point of no return’ and may never give us an opportunity to pet them again.

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Countless years, we have all watched certain T.V. shows and movies which have shown a police officer with his most trusted friend and companion, which is a canine. I am sure most dog lovers have watched the movie ‘Turner and Hooch’ starring Tom Hanks as Detective Turner and Beasley the Dog as Hooch. The synopsis of this movie is that Turner’s friend was murdered by a thug and his dog, Hooch was the sole witness to that incident. So turner brings him home in order to solve the case with his help and the dog shows its scent and face recognition capabilities to catch the criminal. Likewise, the K9 : P. I. series stars James Belushi and his partner Jerry Lee, the dog, who assists him in sniffing up drugs. Although Tin-Tin is not in the police, his dog Snowy assists him in all his adventures. Even Dogmatix, Obelix’s pet in the comic series Asterix protects his master and his friends now and again from miscreants. All such movies, comics and cartoons show us, although in a comical way, that our very beloved pet dogs are a very important part of protecting us. Dogs have become an integral part of the criminal justice system over the past centuries. Starting from chasing and catching a criminal to locating drugs and bombs, dogs play a big part in our everyday security. In India, the Chhatisgarh police has recently planned to train street dogs along with pedigree dogs to assist them on Naxal based operations. Talks about training street dogs in all cities for security purposes are going on.

No one is sure exactly when humans domesticated dogs, but one thing is for certain, dogs and humans have been working side by side for years. Even before the B.C. era came into being, dogs were kept as pets and protectors. They fought wars side by side humans and were trained to be guards in service to Egyptians, Greeks, and Persians. They were even used during both the World Wars. Whether the dog is trained in guide work, search and rescue, bomb detection, or narcotics detection, modern training methods have made the application and institution of these four-legged crime fighters more reliable throughout their time of service. A Police Officer encounters both dangerous and potentially fatal situations on a regular basis and apart from having firearms, they are equipped with less lethal tools. Police service dogs fall under that category. Suspects are more likely to surrender in the presence of a dog due to the psychological effects of the dog being present. Military personnel and law enforcement officers alike utilize canines as companions and partners in the field due to their strength and attributes of loyalty and courage, which complement that of his handler. These dogs stay with their handlers like pets. They are properly cared for and trained before they are taken into the field.

K9s begin training at a very young age, in most cases at about six weeks old. The training starts with learning a task as simple as retrieving a tennis ball and as the ball comes toward him he is told “Get your dope,” associating that phrase with play time. As the dog moves up in age and maturity, the tennis ball or towel is then scented with the smell of drugs or explosives but the same phrase is used to reinforce the “play drive.” As the dog continues in his training the “toy” is hidden out of sight and the dog is brought in to “find his dope” at this time he will begin sniffing for his toy. After a successful alert the dog is praised by his handler and rewarded with play time. Bite work is very important to agencies so the K9 can assist in apprehending a fleeing suspect and so that he may also protect the handler. The dog is trained very young to bite only the things he is told to.

I think it is an incredible experience to have not only a partner on the job, but also a companion in the home because a K-9 officer does not only have the responsibility of controlling their dog in the field, but also when they go back home after work. The dog becomes a part of their family now and forever. K-9 partners frequently work nights and weekends, and they have to be ready to respond to emergency situations with little or no notice. Even when the dog eventually retires, which is usually after eight to ten years of duty, it still remains a part of the family of its handler.

Common dog breeds like German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Beagle, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Pitbulls etc., that we keep as pets in our homes, make good police dogs because they are big in size, strong, good runners, have a thick coats that can protect them from harsh weather conditions and they have a lot of heart—these dogs wants to be of help. Though tired or even hurt, they will keep going. Speaking at a personal level, I have a Doberman who is a darling. But even if I am out for a midnight stroll with her, no one dares to come near me or pass a comment at me. She may not have been trained as a service dog, but she is born with the intent to protect her owner.

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