The Police Dog Unit (PDU), established in 1949, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. 58-year-old Sergeant Tung, who is still in the Force on a post-retirement service contract, has been working in PDU for 35 years. He is undoubtedly a police dog expert. “As a child, I once came across a policeman patrolling with a big wolfdog. The grandeur pair not only inspired me to join the Force, but also led me to join PDU successfully. It’s a dream having come true.”

Tung, being one of the most experienced officers in the unit, witnessed continuous improvement of the training venue throughout the years. “When I was trained in Ping Shan, the training ground was less than 2 000 square feet and could barely accommodate ten police dogs in a class. Sometimes we had to borrow the basketball courts in neighbouring villages. The subsequent Queen’s Hill and Kai Tak bases were transitional venues only. Most of the facilities there were not designed for training police dogs.” In 2003, the PDU Headquarters and Force Search Unit Training School at Sandy Ridge were officially opened. Tung said with excitement, “The canine population was 75 when I started my career, and it has increased to more than 200 at present. The previous problem with insufficient space that had affected training progress has finally been solved. The number of dogs that can be accommodated has been greatly increased. The new Headquarters can also house simulation training venues and medical operating rooms specially designed for police dogs to provide more comprehensive support.”

In addition to hardware optimisation, professionalised support is even more indispensable. Tung has worked in the PDU medical team responsible for canine health, venue hygiene and drug procurement. To enhance his competency in the job, Tung took a distance course in canine nursing offered by an Australian institution in his spare time in 2003. It took him three years to finish the course. “When people fall sick or get injured, they can still express their pain. When a police dog experiences discomfort, however, we can only rely on the medical check-ups, our experience and professional knowledge to make diagnosis and prescription. As I go through life and death with my furry partners every day, I want to strengthen my abilities to take better care of them.”

For more effective management, Tung, who was a computer-illiterate, has created a systematic electronic database from scratch through self-studying. “In the early years, information of a dog was recorded on a piece of paper with its name and related vaccination records only. As the number of police dogs increased, I wrote this database programme for my colleagues to obtain information of every dog accurately and promptly. This database is still being used by my colleagues and being optimised continuously.”

Reviewing his growth with PDU, Tung is pleased to see PDU’s role become more diversified and professional in operations. He stated proudly, “Before 1997, the explosive search dogs in security operations were provided and taken care by the British army. Upon Hong Kong’s return to the Motherland, the PDU has developed the capability to cultivate and train its own explosive search dogs. It is my honour to grow with PDU. I wish PDU continue to strive for excellence and work side by side with all other formations of the Force for safeguarding Hong Kong.”