By John Cairns

HONG KONG -- When dogs have personal name-cards, you know they mean business. They’ll be the ultimate professionals, some of the best at their jobs.

At the Animals Asia Foundation’s most recent Hong Kong Dog Devotion Awards, I had the pleasure to meet such dogs from the fire-services and customs authorities. Earlier, we reported on three-year-old Sasha, a Labrador retriever who investigates suspicious fires. She’s trained to sniff for the hydrocarbons that imply arson.

Sasha’s human assistant gave me her name-card. I’d never received a dog’s name-card before so it deeply impressed me, all the more with its attractive photo, lamination, personal details and bilingual (Chinese-English) wording.

Then I encountered Rolf, a seven-year-old golden retriever, and Goofy, a three-year-old English springer spaniel, both from the Customs and Excise Department. They too provided nifty name-cards.

As drug-detector dogs, Rolf and Goofy often sniff for narcotics. Their cards carry slogans on the back, like “You can help Rolf to beat narcotics trafficking.”

We chatted. “Nice to meet you, Rolf. Hey, no need to sniff. I’m not carrying drugs. OK, go ahead and make sure.”

In return, I handed out my name-card. The dogs remained courteous and respectful, but I suspect that my card didn’t impress them quite as much.



Goofy's name-card shows an
inquisitive stare at the camera.



Rolf's name-card: he
nose about drugs.


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