The K9 kennel facility which will house the eight working dogs brought into Palau to assist in drug and bomb detection has found an “ideal location”, said Narcotics Enforcement Agency’s (NEA’s) Director Ismael Aguon.
The location will be announced once permitting and authorization from Koror State and the Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB) are completed and on hand.
Meanwhile, the NEA has said that its officers in training, who are being taught to work with and take care of their working dogs, are set to graduate their course in a month. The course, which includes classroom sessions and field training, has been ongoing since the beginning of November. The original location intended for the working dog facility, next to the NEA compound in Ngesekes, was eventually considered unsuitable for the building site due to it being a residential neighborhood.
The plan for the ten-foot-tall kennel building, which is set to be built by the Civic Action Team (CAT) and Navy Seabee personnel, contains the kennels in which the dogs will be kept, food preparation and storage areas, a corridor, and an outdoor kennel where the dogs can be relocated during cleaning, and will be connected to an obedience course. The facility is designed so that drains connect to the sewer system, allowing for easy cleaning.
The working dogs are specifically bred and trained to detect narcotics and dangerous chemicals. The program is designed to provide tighter monitoring for drugs and explosives at Palau’s ports of entry, as well as to assist NEA officers in drug busts.
Although instances of drug smuggling have been reduced since the closure of flights into Palau, the NEA says that there is still some import of drugs by means of mail and cargo containers.
Working dog facility relocated, awaiting permits
