Bastion K9 Academy

13 January- Rex did a mission in a nearby community where tools, concrete nails, water boots and a hack saw were stolen. Rex lead the police to a homestead where the police will continue with the investigation.

26 January-K9 Squad was called out to theft case where 5 x tires were stolen. The scene was well protected and there was soft rain throughout the night. Whilst waiting for the police to arrive, very hard rain started to fall. Rex took the spoor at 11:22 and indicated a vehicle pick up at the main road. The spoor was 2.26km long.

11 April- At 13:30 Rex had his first mission with his new handler, the theft of 2 goats in the early morning hours from a nearby community. He started the trail outside the kraal and followed the trail with the backup of the RSP, 2.68 km to an illegal crossing point in the fence line with South Africa. Welcome to the new TEAM REX.

7May- Rex was called out to a break-in that occurred sometime during the weekend. This happened at one of the housing complexes in the forest. R500 was stolen out of the house. Rex was started on a clear track of the perpetrator and after 630m, through the housing complex, Rex gave a person ID at two guys under a tree. The case was then handed over to the Police for Investigation. Well done Team Rex!!!

06 June- Honey Theft at Neighboring Community. Rex was called out to this case where honey was stolen from the Community Honey Farming Project. The theft happened sometime the previous day. 1. On the scene there were some good scent article but the bees were stinging everyone, great fun that, and the dogs could not get close. 2. The scent articles had to be removed from the danger area and Rex was scented and started the trail at 12:15. 3. Along the trail more evidence was found of discarded honey combs, great confirmation of the trail! 4. Rex had to cross a large river to follow the trail but he had no problems in following the trail over the water. 5. After 1,44km, Rex indicated a specific homestead that the thieves have entered. 6. The matter was then handed over to the Community Police

House Robbery: ON the 7th of this Month, at around 13:00 a High Ranking (General) Police official had a house Robbery. One suspect was shot and wounded. The K9 squad was requested to help fins clues as to where the suspects ran to. 1. Rex arrived ,at 16:50, on the scene and blood was found. This indicated a good starting point for the trail. 2. He started inside the yard and indicated that the suspect went over the fence. 3. He then followed the trail but to everyone's surprise he showed the suspect entered a house just 2 houses down the street. 4. He went inside the yard and did a strong Door ID on one of the side entrances to the house. 5. The police stormed inside and found out that 8 people live there and that one is missing. 6. More investigations confirmed that this man was the suspect and he is now on the run. The police has identified the man and justice will prevail here. 7. Well done Rex boy. Not your longest trail but the old man is still solid on scent!

12 July- Rex responded to a burglary at a home in a nearby village. 1. The theft of R 400 was only discovered when the resident arrived home from school at 16:10. 2. Rex was started at 18:55 on a footprint found inside and also outside the home. 3.He ran 4,34 km into the hills and ended at a dagga field. 4. The police requested that we stop the mission and they will continue with the case as they know who works those fields.

20 July- At 18:58 Rex reacted to a call out on a case of assault. 1. The suspect was known to the police, but they wanted to know where he was fleeing to. 2. Witnesses gave us direction last seen, a footprint of the shoes he was wearing was found on this path and his soccer boots warn the previous day was also used as scent article. A triple secured start! 3. Rex was started at 20:54. 4. He ran a trail of 20.8 km 5. The police ended the mission when he reached a big river as the suspects home is right across the river. 6. His mother reported that he broke into her home that night, stole his belongings and ran away to one of the big cities. 7. Even though our boy is almost 8 years old, he showed great motivation on this trail and did it at a fast jog, leaving back-up behind. Well done old boy!!

25 August- At 10:10 the police requested the help of our K9 team with a theft at a nearby school. The suspects were disturbed while trying to steal cement bags from the new school building project. It is unclear how many they took. 1. The window was broken and 9 bags of cement were piled outside. 2. The police collected a beany and boot along the exit rout, but one beany was left that the team used as a scent article. 3. Rex was started at 11:18 on the second beany where the suspects had crossed the fence. 4. Rex indicated where the suspects had crossed the second fence on a corner. 5. He ran a trail of 900m to indicate on a homestead nearby. 6. The police thanked us for the assistance and will continue with the investigation.

28 August - The Office workers at a local village noticed that there was a break-in at the office during the night. A window was broken, curtains were moved to cover the windows of the office where the safe is kept and an attempt was made to get into safe and the main office. 1. K9 received the request for assistance at 08:20, Charley and Rex reacted. 2. Charley was started at 12:22 with one of the curtains as a scent article next to the safe. She moved to the door of the main office and then indicated on the broken window. 3. She was taken outside and restarted. She ran a trail of 1.4 km to give a door ID on one of the houses in the village. 4. As we suspected multiple suspects, we also started Rex, but on a different curtain. 5. Rex ran a trail of 2.55 km, entering a yard along the way, but ending his trail by indicating another house on the edge of the village. 6. The information was handed over to the police.

Julia

1 January- At 18:00 today a suspect vehicle was stopped in the village by the Police. The occupants decided to jump out and ran away into our forest. They are clearly visitors here because they ran right past the gate of our dog school. The handlers quickly grabbed Julia and took the spoor on the request of the Police. Within 1km the suspect were found and caught by the K9 squad. The suspects were then handed over to the Police!

19 January- Julia was called out to the resin project in our forest. Bags used to catty gutters used in the harvesting of resin was stolen the previous day. Julia lead them to a homestead outside the forest.

6 February- At 02:00 in the morning, Julia was called out to a Robbery and Assault case in a community just outside our Forest. The incident happened at 00:30 and a jacket was left on the scene by the criminals. Julia took scent at 03:05 and followed the spoor for 5.7km to the main tar road where she indicated a vehicle pick-up. Some of the stolen goods where found about 1.1km from the starting point on the trail. The police is very happy with the clues they have received and will continue with the investigation.

27 February- At 17:00 Julia was called out to investigate missing money from a community members home.There was no sign of a break-in. Her handler started her on a room bail out, walked her past all household members, after which Julia made many turns in the yard. She investigated the road past the neighbors but repeatedly returned to the home, Indicating that no unknown person left the yard. The case is handed over to the community member.

11 March- Julia was called out to a break-in at a neighboring homestead. The owner left for church in the morning and on his return, late the afternoon, he found the break-in at his home.

K9 squad arrived at the scene at 18:30 but the lightning and rain was very heavy and they could not work. They decided to return the next day,

At 09:30 the next day Julia was utilized on the scene using a wheelbarrow that was used to climb into the window, as the scent article. A young manliving at the homestead showed the police the wheelbarrow the previous day and was not present at the scene.

Julia ran a very good track, showing the entry/exit point at the fence, for about 3km. (You can see one funny, long back track on the spoor, i will say more about this later) The police then stopped the trail because the dog was going straight to the local school. They were under the impression that Julia took the young man's scent from the wheelbarrow and not the perpetrator's. (This was a mistake!)

2 days later the police phoned us and explained the following: 1. The young man does not go to that school. Their information was wrong! Upon hearing this, they went to the school and questioned the pupils. They found a suspect that confessed to the crime and then found the stolen goods at his home. 2. The funny back track was the road the suspect took to his home from the crime scene and then again the next morning to the school. Julia worked out that there is fresher scent from the suspect going the other way although the scent age differs in many hours. Well done girl!

Even when we did not identified a suspect this time, the information from the trail helped in solving the case!! Lesson learned: Finish the trail, do not assume anything!

26 March- Today Julia reacted to a call out of copper theft in the mill. She followed the spoor up to a nearby main road, indicating a vehicle pick-up.

31 March-At 06:00, an electrician was called out to a faulty line in the forest. He confirmed cable theft and Julia was called out to the scene. She was utilized at 16:00 on the spoor. She followed a trail of 14.8km , all along a main dirt road, from the scene. The 2 tracks found at the scene,a boot and a trainer, was seen a few times on the trail as confirmation. She exits the forest into the town where she showed great interest in an LDV (vehicle) under the tree and then continued into the parking lot and ID'd another sedan vehicle. A man then confronted the K9 team and things started to get a bit hairy with a crowd forming. That man was later identified as the owner of both vehicles (funny that!?). While we were waiting on the police, the owner of the vehicles left in the LDV. We finally handed over to the police at 20:00. They waited for the owner to return to his vehicle but he never showed up. The police is now on the case and looking for that man for questioning. Well done Julia and K9 team!!! Great work!

9 April- At 14;30 Julia reacted to the call out to a scene of a break-in at a grocery store in a nearby community. The incident occurred during the night, so the trail was 7 hours old or older. She lead the team 2.28km to a homestead. The case was handed over to the police.

24 April- Julia was called out to a missing person case at a nearby community. The person was last seen the previous day at 17:00 under a tree on his fathers' homestead. Julia eliminated all searchers who were on the scene, started the trail at 10:20 from a jacket worn the previous day by the missing person and followed the trail 2,13 km to indicate a vehicle pick up.

The police then received a call that the person was spotted at 03:00 that morning in a community some distance away. The K9 squad accompanied the police, but on arrival they were informed that the person had been found.

Although Julia could not lead the police to the missing person, her indication of a vehicle pick up gave the police the valuable information that the person was no longer in the area. Well done Team Julia.

4th of May, Julia was called out to a missing person's case. 1. Monday, 30 April: A child (5 years old) was kidnapped in front of 2 other children whilst playing under a tree. Men with balaclavas on simply picked the child up and ran away. 2. The family and extended family searched and then called the whole community to help. This is a lot of people. When the search was unsuccessful , the police was called in. Many police officers were called in to search and after 4 days, they called us. 3. Upon arrival, a good , clean scent article was collected at the child's home belonging to the child. It was a jacket the child wore the weekend before the abduction. 4. It was impossible to isolate the perpetrator's tracks of any article with his scent on because the scene was totally destroyed with hundreds of other footsteps for 4 days long 5. Julia was targeted on the jacked at the Place Last Seen and the handler decided to do 2 starting circles to give the dog enough opportunity to figure out the scents at the scene. Julia did give good head snaps on the 2 circles to indicate that there is scent available that is leaving the area. 6. As per normal procedure, the dog was pointed the opposite direction of the head snap and was told to start trailing. 7. Julia followed the trail for a short distance, about 500m, and then lifted her head, searching behaviour started but she turned back towards the starting point. She then eliminated a lot of footpaths in that area but ultimately showed the handler, No More Scent is available here.

11 May- Julia was called out to a scene where someone cut Timber in our forest to steal it.It was estimated that the timber was cut somewhere from late Wednesday to early morning Thursday.Julia started the spoor from a good foot print at the scene and followed the scent for 2,25 km where she then Identified a homestead

23 May 2018- Julia was called out to a case of copper cable theft in the Saw Mill. This was the most amazing trail I have experienced. I can not really describe how difficult the start was. I am so proud of Julia and her handler/team. 1. The theft happened on Friday night, 6 days ago. 2. The trail started in a very difficult area, 3 stories high, in a building we are busy demolishing. There are a lot of the grid walkways that you can see through and a lot of very steep steps made out of this. 3. We had to carry Julia up the steps 4. The dog was scented on some of the cables handled by the criminals. 5. She was very sure of the way out and followed the steps down to the 1st floor. Here she showed a lot of exiting body movements indicated that she had found fresher spoor. This was the first sign that the person could still be here inside the mill. 6. She exited the building and followed a trail to the canteen where she entered and cleared the area. 7. She then followed a trail on the cement roads and entered the workshop. This is a big building with a lot of mechanical equipment running, cutting, welding etc. 8. I was secretly wishing she would enter there as the main suspects in our copper theft, works in that building. 9. She then went and smelled/eliminated each person present in the workshop at the time, but did not give an ID on any person ( 20 people). 10. She then exited the building and immediately showed the trail has ended. 11. I immediately made a list of who is not in the building that should be there. 2 People were missing and YES, these are the guys we have always suspected!! Fantastic work Girl!! 12. In the aftermath we have had reports from eyewitnesses that the 1 suspect ran and hid in an vehicle whilst phoning the main suspect to warn him that the dog is on its way. He then ran and hid in the toilets inside the building.

20 June 2018- Julia was called out to a farm in Swaziland where the farmer had some people trying to start fires and block some of his roads with tires and rocks. This happened the previous day or sometime during the night. 1. K9 squad arrived on the scene at 11:38 2. The scene was heavily contaminated as there were many people there at this protest action. 3. At 12:00, Julia was scented on the tire placed in the road and she started well on the trail. 4. After 4km she indicated a specific homestead and the police went in to interrogate the home owner. 5. The K9 squad also identified that the same track was seen at the starting point and inside the homestead yard. 6. The police, after speaking to the owner, confirmed that the trail was positive and arrested the owner for the arson. They will get the names of the other people involved, from him. 7. Good work Julia and K9 team! You make us proud! And for the purest: There was a beautiful Fence ID also thrown into the mix along the trail!

26 June- At 7:30, Julia was called out to a copper theft in Matsapha. 1.The incident occurred the previous night and their security encouraged our team to start Julia on a hole in their fence. But after a thorough assessment of the yard, a battle sign in the form of a fresh bush cutting woven into the fence near a hole in the fence was spotted. 2. The team decided to start Julia outside the yard as it was presumed the thieves made their exit here. However, Julia entered the yard, ran past the crime scene and indicated an exit, over the fence, further along. 3.She quickly found a third hole in the fence, made her exit and trailed up to a dirt road where drag lines and vehicle tyre markings were spotted. Julia did a clear indication of a vehicle pick-up by sitting in front of her handler and looking him in the eyes. Lesson learned: never assume and ALWAYS trust your dog.

25 June 2018- A farmer across the border called for help with Arson Fire on his farm. A series of fires where lit during the weekend and the last one on Sunday night. 1. Julia and Yster were dispatched on Monday morning and arrived at the scene at 10:35. 2. After assessing the scene a clear foot print was found and Julia was scented on that print. (The track in red attached was her track) 3. A nice identical print was also seen along the track confirming the trail. 4. She ended at a homestead where a lot of local dogs were present. It was thought that she could have been stopped by the dogs and Yster was then restarted on the same footprint. 5. Yster started the spoor at 12:30. He ran an almost identical trail to hers ( Yster's track in white attached) 6. Yster found 6 guys near the end of his trail and after sniffing them all nicely, he jumped on one of them. That is his normal ID. 7. He then turned away from the people and completed the trail to the same homestead Julia stopped at. 8. Fantastic work Julia and Yster! The SAP took over and will investigate these guys. For the purest again: We have done a lot of Covered trails and Person ID's the last 2 months. Our dogs do not follow other dogs for fun. They are obedient to the odor we scent them on. So Yster confirmed Julia's trail and did not follow her, the ID on the trail tells us that he was definitely still working on the target odor!

29 June- At 14:14 Julia was started on a footprint at a cattle theft scene in South Africa. The cattle was stolen the previous day and driven through various farms as the thieves cut fences. Multiple footprints were seen along the way as additional cattle were stolen and the starting footprint was also confirmed. Where the ground was too hard for footprints, Julia was able to follow scent. The cattle was driven across a bridge and into a dense populated area. She ended the trail at a kraal and the team had to quickly evacuate as the inhabitants became very aggressive. A police case was opened by the farmer where the theft started and we hope the South African police will follow up on the investigation.

2 June- Julia reacted to a call out at a honey harvesting fire in our forest. 1. At 01:09 she was started from the paper used to smoke out the bees. 2. She ran the trail and ended at the same community Bas would finish his mission at on 7 July. 3. This community is know for their dagga farming and other illegal activities.

4 July- Julia reacted to a bee fire in our forest, reported at 17:34 on the 3rd of July. The manual crew spent the night extinguishing the fire and contaminating the scene. No footprint was available for the start and the only known object handled by the arsonist was the honey combs themselves. Even with such a strong smell, Julia was able to detect the human scent and found the correlating trail exiting the area. at 10:52. She started the trail at 10:52 and ran 1.2 km up to a home stead in a community known for not making use of our system for collecting honey from the bee hives in our forest. Two boys were identified by our investigators and given a stern reprimand and instructions on how to go about harvesting honey through the proper channels.

20 July- Julia reacted to a break-in and arson of a shop and bar at a nearby village. 1. On the evening of 19 July, the suspects broke into the bar. They broke a hole through the wall to enter the shop next door, vandalized the property and then burnt down the shop as they left. 2. The fire services were called out and contaminated the bar in their effort to extinguish the fire. Many people also contaminated the shop. 3. At 12:04 Julia was started on a plug lid removed from the wall by the vandals. 4. She ran a spoor of 1km to enter a homestead, exited the homestead and went to the one next door. 5.The police later confirmed that the two neighbours were both suspects. One was present at Julias start and therefore she eliminated him and only followed the scent of the person not present at the start.

06 Aug 2018, a farmer in South Africa contacted us for help with some arson fire incidents on his farms. The K9 squad was activated. 1. On the first farm there were about 14 fires started throughout Saturday and Sunday. 2. There was very high winds in play so much so that all traces of human tracks or signs were covered with dust and ash. No articles to start the fires were found also. This makes trailing very difficult as the starting point is totally unclear. 3. Julia was started in a casting pattern around one of the fires that was situated in the middle of all the fires. 4. One one of the casting legs, she gave a clear head snap and was off on the trail! 5. She followed a trail for about 3,1km going from one fire spot to the next, confirming that she is on the right scent. 6. At the end there was about 15 to 20 workers on a lunch break, sitting down, next to the road. She started to give her proximity alerts, Tail wagging fiercely, pulling into the harness with small jumps. 7. She passed about 15 worker and suddenly jumped right on top of one of the workers! This is her ID, especially when you are sitting down. She is such a friendly and loving dog that all she wants is cuddles and love but this worker was absolutely terrified and also showed a lot of stress and fear for being pointed out! 8. Well done girl! The farmer can now start to solve this problem on the farm because he knows who it was! 9.From there they went to the other farm but more about those trails later!

3 August-Fire: Yesterday at 18:00 one of our Towers reported a fire inside our forest. The fire crews were send out and the fire was totally extinguished at 20:33 1. The K9 squad was send in this morning at 07:33 and they tried to find the cause of the fire. 2. After searching about a 2 hectare area the cause was identified as a honey extraction gone wrong. 3. The Julia was then scented on the rocks around the bee hive and also on a piece of cloth that was burned. 4. On the starting circle around the fire she gave clear head snaps indicating that the scent/scent article at the starting was good 5. She was then started at the starting point again and took a very clear and good spoor to a nearby Harvesting Contractor's base of operation. The spoor was 800m long. 6. The investigation team then questioned the persons there and they confirmed that there were guys eating honey and talking about the bees yesterday! We will handle these guys in an appropriate way! 7. Well done Julia! 8. For the purest: We find that the emotional scent in these fire cases really help our dogs to "lock" onto the correct scent in these very difficult and contaminated starts. When a lot of bees are stinging you while you are taking out the honey, you tend to leave a lot of fear scent behind!

13 August- At 13:23, we received a request for assistance to a farmer in a nearby town. 4 Bags of 50 kg corn seeds were stolen from his store room. 1. Julia was started on the blue colored corn seeds found next to the store room at 17:00. No visible footprints were seen as there is grass all around. It is assumed that there were more than one perpetrator to carry the 4 bags, 1. She indicated at the fence where they crossed over, the team exited at the gate and the handler restarted her outside the fence. 2. Along the trail she also indicated more scattered seeds 3. She followed the trail 2,3km in a wide curve to end up at the main road by indicating a vehicle pick-up. 4. The case is handed over to the local police station.

13 Sept 2018- Multiple (6) break-ins at locally owned shops: K9 squad was called out in the morning after a spate of break-ins during the Wednesday night. Some shots were fired as well, at one of the shops by the owners. The police asked for any help of evidence to start this investigation from.

1. We had no idea which break-ins was first or last so we had to start somewhere and see what the dogs tells us. We first started Julia on the break-in far away from town ( About 6km). Two shops were targeted there. She quickly started from a clear foot print belonging to the criminals. She ran from the one targeted shop to the other one,linking the crimes nicely. From there she ran 3,6km on the tar road heading towards the town. It was clear that she will be going to town, so we stopped her there as she passed all the know criminal spots/houses of that immediate area. 2. We then started Sheila on the scene where the shooting happened and she was scented from the piece of plank that was used to break open the shop window. She took a good trail, running from 1 shop to the other, over the footbridge ( first time over there and she was a bit apprehensive) and crossing the main tar road to link up the trail with the other two shops broken into. This confirms that it was indeed the same people doing all break-ins. She then ended the trail with a great gate ID at a homestead, pulling hard to enter and find the man. We handed all info over to the police and they were ecstatic! 3. The place where she stopped is allegedly a well know suspect of many,many criminal cases and actions. The police said that they had all they need. 4. Well done Girls! Great job!

22 September. The theft of a satelite LNB, an attempted theft of the satelite dish and cutting of cables. 1. At 07:00 the owner of the home where the theft took place during the night reported the crime at the police station. 2. Julia and Zena reacted to the call-out and arrived at the scene at 09:17. 3. Zena was started on the geyser used as a ladder to reach the mounted satellite dish. 4. She ran a very short distance to a nearby home. She entered the yard and clearly indicated that the suspect lived here. 5. Julia was then started on the abandoned satellite dish and took a short spoor to the local bar, indicating that the suspect visited the bar after the crime. 6. We suspect more than one person was involved in the crime or a passerby thought to take the satellite dish and then changed their mind. 7. Our information has been handed over to the police station. 8. Julia's trail is in red and Zena ( aged 13 months) in black.

4 October- Julia reacted to a call out at a contractor in our forest. 1. During the rains on Wednesday night the suspects stole the battery and diesel from the tank of the contractors Logger vehicle. 2. At 09:20 K9 received a request for assistance. 3. They arrived at the scene at 10:19. 4. Upon investigations they found a screwdriver left by the suspects and could use this as a scent article to start the trail. 5. Julia was started on the trail at 10:31 and ran 870 meter to a clearing along the road and then returned to her handler, indicating a vehicle pick-up.

Charley

3 January- After Julia was disturbed by dogs on a trail, Charley was re-started at the homestead in Mhlangeni. She confirmed the trail Julia ran and lead the police to a homestead with a history of suspected criminal activity. 22 January- K9 Squad was called out to a break-in at a community shop. This happened at about 00:00 last night 21 Jan 2018. Charley was put on the spoor and she ran the spoor for 2.2km to indicate a homestead where the alleged perpetrator lives. The case was handed over to the RSP for further investigation. 5 February- At 14:00 Charley took spoor after a lot of clothes and other goods were found in the forest. These goods were lying there for at least 2 days. She did just over 3km and did a perfect Door ID at a community members home. All evidence were given to police. It was a perfect trail! 6 February- At 08:00, Charley was called out to break in at a local bar. A spoor was found on a chair where the criminals climb out of the window. She was scented on this spoor and she took off! The trail she followed lead to the main tar road and at about 800m the first evidence of chips and Savanna's , stolen from the bar, was found. Then she followed the spoor right on the tar road for another 5,3km where more evidence was found! At 6,24km the dog was stopped for water and a rest. The police then thanked us and said they now know who it was and they arrested the criminal within a few hundred meters from that point. He confessed and more importantly confirmed the whole trail that Charley ran!16 February - On Friday afternoon, at 17:00, Charley was called out to a break-in at Mhlambanyatsi. She was started on a spoor in the yard, passed all the inhabitants as scent present and followed the train to the bus stop, indicating a vehicle pick-up. RSP will continue with the investigation. 25 February- Charley was called out to an abandoned truck where the driver lost control. She started the trail as a vehicle bail out and followed the trail for 2 km up to a bus stop. At the bus stop there were people being aggressive towards our team, but Charley showed good maturity and was willing to defend her handler. 1 March-This morning two men stole batteries and radios from vehicles at a neighboring high school. The Police requested the help of the K9 team after one suspect was apprehended and one ran away. Charley followed a clear trail up to the fence, where she indicated that the suspect ran through the whole cut in the fence. She lead the team to a bus station 2,5 km further. The Police were grateful for the conformation of their suspicions. 2 March - At 08:23 this morning Charley was called out to assist at a copper theft. The thieves were disturbed in progress and left their tools, so she had a good scent article start. She trailed 6.6 km and indicated at a fence where an illegal footpath enters a game reserve. Police called off the mission at 14:11 as the footpath leads to a known community and the community police will continue with the investigation. 3 March- At 22:11 in the evening Charley was called out to a mission at a nearby community where two hikers were assaulted and robbed of their back packs. Charley took the spoor and found the back packs along the way, minus all edible goods. She lead the team 1 km further to a homestead where the police took over the investigation. 5 March- This morning at 09:12, Charley was called out to investigate a tyre stolen from a trailer used in our eucalyptus oil extraction plant. It was a bit of a short trail, as she indicated no more spoor and a vehicle pick up 10 meter from the starting point. Well done girl, a mission is a mission.

31 March- Saturday night at 02:45 , Charley reacted to a call for assistance at a house in our village. The occupant had hear someone trying to find entrance into the home. Security requested the K9 team to trail any outgoing trails as no clear starting point could be identified. Charley lead them 2.45 km to a nearby settlement. 4 April-Charley was called out today to a case of vandalism in the forest where our young tress were just pulled out of the ground and left to die. It was confirmed that this happened on Sunday. We have had a bit of rain in the last few days so there was no visible spoor or starting point. At 15:50, we used one of the uprooted trees as a scent article and Charley followed a good trail for about 850m to Identify a homestead. The mother at the homestead confirmed that her children was in the forest and could be guilty of this act. Investigations will continue with the children. Great work Charley, i knew you can take old spoor! Who said Mali's can only take 2 hour old spoor? 11 May 2018 - Charley was called out a theft incident out of a vehicle.The break-in happened sometime during the night and a few goods and money was stolen out of the Taxi.She was scented from a footprints ( scent was transferred to a scent pad) and she took a very good trail from the vehicle.She ran through a sub-urban area for 3,25km, over hard surfaces and tar road to indicate a specific house in a homestead. The owner was hostile but the police took over the scene and the investigation continues. 26 May - On the eve of 25 May we received a request for help in the search of a missing girl. 2. She was last seen at the homestead of her mother on 23 May. 3. Julia and later Charley were started on clothing found in the girls room. 4. Their trails left the homestead by different routes, but both went pass her fathers homestead to end in a vehicle pick-up at a bridge connecting the community with a main road. 5. Her mutilated body was found on the 27th nor far from where the dogs indicated vehicle pick-up. 6. It is suspected that the kidnappers returned the body to the family after her death. 8 June 2018- Honey Fire: During Thursday, somebody started a fire to get to the honey from a bee hive between some rocks. 1. The fire was seen later the night at 20:05 2. It took a crew of 8 people until 22:00 to contain the fire. 3. Charley was scented on the piece of cloth used to start the fire. At 10:05 this morning she started the trail confidently after looking around quite a bit for the exit spoor. I believe that starting a trail from a fire like this is very, very difficult for the dogs as almost all moisture is burned off and very little scent remains in small pockets. 4. She took a trail of 1,74 km to Identify a specific homestead by entering the gate. Well done girl!! No one will get away from us! 5. The investigators will take over now and find the person responsible for the fire. 19 June-At 14;40 the K9 squad was called out to investigate a fire in our forest. They arrived at the scene at 16;20 and after investigating found the cause of the fire as someone who had heated his lunch and left his spoon behind. Charley was scented off the spoon. With a strong head snap she took the trail 1,7 km into a community who is antagonistic towards our forest. Although she was still very eager to follow, she was stopped on the Forest Managers orders and rewarded with a quick intensity trail.22 June- Charley reacted to call out at a bee fire the previous day at Bulembu. The natural bee hive was in the bark of a tree and the are was completely burnt. After investigations, the team started Charley on some human waste and tissue paper in a non burnt area. It was confirmed that no member of the fire crew had relieved himself. Charley took the spoor 1km to indicate a contractor working in the forest. The investigation was handed over to the Fire Manager. 25 June- A local shop keeper reported a theft the previous night at her shop. The thief had entered through a window and left a size 8 footprint inside the shop on the table below the window. The RSP took fingerprints from the glass, but left the scene before our team arrived. At 12:50 Charley was started on goods inside the shop and took the spoor 930m entering a homestead and giving the no more scent ID. Upon reporting this to the shop keeper, she reminded the police of a previous incident whereby the shack behind this homestead was found to be suspicious. Hopefully the fingerprints will add weight together with our trail in convicting the thief. 28 June- Charley ran a trail from a bee harvesting fire inside our forest. The team was called out at 15:00 after a manual crew had extinguished the fire and Charley was started at 16:25. She took a trail 2.4km to end at a homestead outside our forest. The investigations team will take the case further. 17 July- At 08:16 copper theft at our mill was reported. 1. Charley reacted to the call out. 2. She was started at 10:33 on a visible footprint where they cut and dragged the copper wire out of the building. 3. She ran a spoor of 960m to indicate a vehicle pick-up on a small road next to the main road. 21 July- Herders from our cattle grazing project found that the mobile electric fence was cut during the night. 1. The solar panel, battery and other equipment were stolen from a container at the site. 2. All cattle were found grazing nearby. 3.Charley was started at 12:35 from the container. All herders who had touched the container were present, so she followed the scent of the missing person. 4. She ran 6 km to enter at a homestead indicating the thief lives here! 5. The investigations team confirmed that the son from that homestead is unemployed and a known trouble maker according to his mother. 6. No police were present at the time so the home could not be searched, The police will continue with the case. 6 August.Honey Hunter Fire: Early this morning the K9 squad was called out to a honey fire in our forest. 1. At 11:30 the K9 squad assessed the scene and found a stick and a cloth that was used to smoke out the bees. The bees were inside a tree. 2. It was probably an incident that happened over the weekend but the high winds (50 to 60km/h) started this fire today, 3. Charley was scented on the cloth and she ran a very good trail for about 1km 4. She indicated a homestead and the investigators will continue from here. Someone needs to be charged here! 5. Well done Charley, I see you were slower on the trail because it was old and the wind was pumping 28 August -The Office workers at a local village noticed that there was a break-in at the office during the night. A window was broken, curtains were moved to cover the windows of the office where the safe is kept and an attempt was made to get into safe and the main office. 1. K9 received the request for assistance at 08:20, Charley and Rex reacted. 2. Charley was started at 12:22 with one of the curtains as a scent article next to the safe. She moved to the door of the main office and then indicated on the broken window. 3. She was taken outside and restarted. She ran a trail of 1.4 km to give a door ID on one of the houses in the village. 4. As we suspected multiple suspects, we also started Rex, but on a different curtain. 5. Rex ran a trail of 2.55 km, entering a yard along the way, but ending his trail by indicating another house on the edge of the village.

Yster

8 March- Yster was sent on his first mission,100 meter stolen water pipe at the Mill Wash Lines. He followed the spoor up to the river crossing. Well done Yster.

19 April- Yster reacted to a call out to timber theft in our forest. He started the trail from 10 cut, but left behind timber, after the grazing cattle were chased away. He followed the approximately 10 hour old trail through a river crossing to indicate vehicle pick up at a tar road. Well done Team Yster, welcome to our K9 Missions Team.

12 May - Yster was called out to an attempted theft case inside our Saw Mill.At 06:00 a man was seen trying to steal a welder by putting inside a bag( see photo) He then ran away to somewhere inside the mill. It is a big place, over 2000 workers.At 08:38 Yster was scented of the bag with the welder inside and he took a good trail to the hole in the fence to indicate the escape route. The area inside the mill is almost exclusively concrete and obviously heavily contaminated with all the people walking in and out. Great start Yster!Trough the hole in the fence, Yster hit the tar road for a while and then a gravel road to a specific community area. By this time the witnesses identified the man and we found out that Yster is on his way to the community where this man lives. Nicely done Yster!

21 May- Yster was called out to a break-in case at a local shop,outside the forest. 1. The break-in happened during the previous night , entry through a window. 2. A clear track was seen and ID'd as the suspect's track. 3. Yster was started on the track at 10:10. 4. He followed at trail for 2,52km and the suspect's track was seen by the tracking team every now and again on the trail, 5. Yster entered the same homestead on three occasions after checking all around that homestead for exiting scent. 6. Well done Yster Boy! The police will continue to investigate the three young, male suspects living at that homestead. 7. In a previous break-in this year,from the same shop, Julia trailed to the house next door. So the police can really grill those guys well with this info.

02 June - Copper theft and Tools Stolen: During the Friday night more than 100kg of copper was stolen and also a lot of tools from a workshop. 1. Yster was called out to see if we can find the thieves. 2. He was scented on some clear prints ,where a wheelbarrow was also used,leaving the scene. 3. The tracks went over a huge old mine dump and then onto paved roads. 4. Yster followed the tracks for 3,44 km to a place where it was clear that 2 vehicles picked up the goods. He then followed the vehicles for a short while to indicate direction and then circled back to the handler to say "no more scent available" 5. The vehicles and the owners were identified and the investigation is far advanced.

25 June 2018- A farmer across the border called for help with Arson Fire on his farm. A series of fires where lit during the weekend and the last one on Sunday night. 1. Julia and Yster were dispatched on Monday morning and arrived at the scene at 10:35. 2. After assessing the scene a clear foot print was found and Julia was scented on that print. (The track in red attached was her track) 3. A nice identical print was also seen along the track confirming the trail. 4. She ended at a homestead where a lot of local dogs were present. It was thought that she could have been stopped by the dogs and Yster was then restarted on the same footprint. 5. Yster started the spoor at 12:30. He ran an almost identical trail to hers ( Yster's track in white attached) 6. Yster found 6 guys near the end of his trail and after sniffing them all nicely, he jumped on one of them. That is his normal ID. 7. He then turned away from the people and completed the trail to the same homestead Julia stopped at. 8. Fantastic work Julia and Yster! The SAP took over and will investigate these guys. For the purest again: We have done a lot of Covered trails and Person ID's the last 2 months. Our dogs do not follow other dogs for fun. They are obedient to the odor we scent them on. So Yster confirmed Julia's trail and did not follow her, the ID on the trail tells us that he was definitely still working on the target odor!

26 June- Yster was called out to a robbery of a delivery vehicle at a neighboring town. Yster was put on the trail at 16:35 showing great excitement even though the trail was at least 3 and a half hours old. The terrain was very steep and multiple sights were found where the suspect lost his footing. At 17:25 the police stopped the mission as it was getting dark and the suspect was armed. On the map it is very clear that Yster was trailing towards a settlement and the police regarded this a enough evidence to continue their investigations.

30June- Yster reacted to a copper theft at a substation near another village. He was started on the plastic stripped from the copper cables. Footprints were also identified at the scene and confirmed the trail along the way. He ran 1.65 km through very steep terrain where his handler had to crawl up after him. The trail was ended at a fence in the border with South Africa.

30 June- Yster reacted to the call out at of a theft the previous evening at a bar in a nearby viliage. Yster was started on a footprint at the entrance gate to the preserved scene. He confirmed the start by passing the class carefully removed from the window pane used to access the bar. Once again eye witnesses gave incorrect information as Yster went in the direction opposite to the one they indicated. The footprint was confirmed along the way. Yster crossed the river and ended the spoor on the main tar road, doing circles and giving his no more scent indication. The same footprint as found at the start, showed the person had stood around waiting for a taxi to pick him up. The police, upon questioning eye witnesses at the end of the trail, found the identity of the suspect to be a known criminal, just released from prison.

6 Aug 2018, A farmer from South Africa asked for the help of the K9 squad with arson fire spots on his farm. These fires where started on Saturday night and Sunday early morning. The squad first worked on a different farm with arson fire then moved to this farm. 1. The squad arrived on this farm at 13:20 where there were about 5 spot fires started. 2. The wind was pumping that weekend with 40 to 60km/h winds and all signs of human tracks were destroyed or covered up with the dust and ash. Also, no scent article used in starting the fire was found on the scene. 3. Yster was then used in a casting circle around the fire and gave a very clear head snap to indicate the trail leaving the area. He was then started at the scene and immediately ran to the trail where he gave the head snap. 4. He followed a trail of 1km and then gave a good ID at the gate of the house. 5. The farmer now knows who is involved in these arson attacks and can start with the processes to stop this from happening again. 6. Good work Boy! You are a super star in the making!!

14 August- At 09:44 we received a request for assistance at a break-in at a community members house. The perpetrator had broken a window and had taken a TV, radio, decoder, satellite dish and many other household items. The theft was believed to have happened at 03:00 that morning as the owner woke up and shouted at the suspects.

1. The team arrived at 11:56 and together with the police and some community members, found some of the stolen goods hidden in the bush some 300m from the home. A neighbor suspected they were also trying to break into his home. 2. Although there were many scent articles to start from, the scene was well preserved and all parties present, so the handler decided to start Yster at the broken window on the metal bar used to break the window. Yster did a nice head snap in the familiarization half-circle of the starting procedure. 3. Yster indicated at the fence were the perpetrators exited the compound. 4. He ran a trail of 400m to indicate a vehicle pick-up at the cross roads. A photo was taken of where tyre tracks made a u-turn. 5. Afterward some community members confirmed that they had seen a vehicle picking up some men at dawn. 6. The case is handed over to the local police.

15 August- We waited for some copper thieves to make an appearence at their stash of copper that must be transported to their market. Late that night they appeared in number and we managed to catch one. A few got away in the darkness and in the incredibly tough terrain. The criminal we caught gave us names and information so the hunt was on.. 1. K9 sqaud was deployed to the scene and they arrived at 10:00 the next morning. 2. After accessing the scene Yster was harnessed and started on the hat one of the perps lost on the scene. I asked them to bring me the head that fits in that hat! 3. Yster ran a good trail over tough terain. It is very mountanous in the forest is very thick. 4. After about 1,7km of heavy going and steep terain yster entered a small town with many small houses. The handler decided to stop Yster and rest for about 10minutes. 5. Yster was restarted on the spoor and withing 500m he stopped and indicated a specific house. 6. Only a young boy was present in the house and he gave his father's name. It was one of the names received from the perp that was caught. This confirms Yster took a great spoor. 7. Yster tried to find an outgoing spoor from the house but could not. We suspect the person was then picked up by a vehicle. 8. Great work Yster and K9 team. This confirms the perp is not lying and all the information will be followed up in earnest. 9. I can also report that this person was also arrested by the police in another location late last night!

27 August- 06:30 we received a request for assistance at a fire in our forest. It is suspected the arsonist was busy with some ritual as white clothing was found at the start. 1. Yster was put on the trail at 09:00. 2. Along the trail his handler noticed a change in his trailing behavior and suspected he missed a corner, they took him back along the trail where they saw good trailing behavior and restarted him. 3. As he was approaching a house inside our forest, a cow with a young calf attacked Yster, protecting her calf. His concentration was completely ruined! 4. Yster was then rested for 25 minutes. 5. Yster was restarted along a footpath behind the house with the cow and her calf. 6. He continued with the trail until he reached a compound in the forest where he made many circles, indicating the 5,3km trail ended here. 7. The workers had all already left for their day-shift, only the cooks were present. 8. The case will be handed over to our investigations team.

Honey project

In August 2018 we decided to do an experiment on a Honey project. Using detection training, our aim is to utilize dogs to detect natural bee hives in our forest. We have a severe problem of arson fires in our forest, started when people harvest the honey themselves, using smoke to dull the bees. We hope to use the dogs to clear areas in our forest of these hives, but also to relocate the nests into man made beehives we can then farm for honey. Malinois dogs Bas and Zorro is being trained for this project.