Eight of the Department of Corrective Services’ drug detection unit dogs received canine service medals for their paw performance at a special event in Bentley on November 23.
Canine service medals are issued to service dogs that have rendered a minimum of five years continuous service in either a federal or state government department.
DCS commissioner James McMahon presented the medals to four of the eight Labradors at their Bentley training facility.
One dog was elderly and not able to travel from retirement in Albany and three others received posthumous awards.
The two operational dogs that received medals, Dior and Xtra, have collectively given 11 years of service to the department, sniffing out drugs and other contraband in the state’s prisons.
Both dogs are based at Hakea Prison in Canning Vale and have been integral parts of prison operations.
Xtra has a long resume and has worked with the Australian Border Force for two years before his time at DCS and WA police have called on his help when executing search warrants.
Drug detection unit coordinator operations Gail Raven said the dogs made their fight against contraband and drugs in prisons a lot easier.
“They’re what we call a mass screening tool and they streamline the search processes by the dog giving indications to drug odours which narrows down the field for the hand search team that are looking for the drugs,” she said.
Ms Raven said the dogs were easier to manage than humans.
“The dogs just do it for a bowl of food at the end of the day and a play with their handler when they’ve indicated to a drug,” she said.
