JOHOR BARU: The K9 Tracker Dog Unit of the Fire and Rescue Department has welcomed a new ‘member’ after its Labrador, Lottie, gave birth to a male puppy, marking Malaysia's first locally bred K9 dog.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said the puppy has been named ‘Brave’.
“I hereby name the newly born puppy ‘Brave’, with the hope that it will grow to become a courageous and valiant four-legged hero in carrying out rescue duties,” he said during the officiating ceremony of the national-level Fire and Rescue Department Day celebration at Angsana Mall here.
Nga said Brave’s birth could help reduce the cost of acquiring K9 dogs from Birmingham, United Kingdom, which usually costs about RM150,000 per dog.
“Previously, the K9 unit obtained dogs from a breeding centre in Birmingham, where the dogs were bred and trained before being sent to our country.
“With this breeding centre, not only can we produce local champions, but we can also achieve cost savings of more than 82%," he said.
He added that each trained dog imported from Birmingham costs about RM150,000.
“My vision is that one day we will be able to export them back to the United Kingdom, as well as to Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
He said the government had previously approved an allocation of RM2.4mil to procure 16 new sniffer dogs from the United Kingdom.
