MAO Mao, an
eight-year-old veteran sniffer dog, looked
at Ni Jinsong, her new master
curiously. It sniffed his foot, rubbed
his leg and soon sat beside
him, swaying his tail.
The
golden retriever along with three
other domesticated dogs between six to
eight years of age have been
patrolling the Shanghai World Financial
Center for over three years. All
of them were adopted by local
families as they reached the
"retirement" age.
"They are
cleverer than normal dogs because they
have received strict training since
they were three years old," said
Sun Longgen, general manager of the
dog training company, and who
describes himself as "father of these
dogs."
The sniffer dogs
patrolled the 492-meter building - the
world's third tallest - 14 hours a
day, to ensure no explosives or
other dangerous materials were brought
into the building.
They worked
two hours - and rested for an
hour - across the stores, unloading
zones and underground garages in the
building. "They are quite old now
and shall enjoy the rest of
life after working hard for so
long," he said.
Though the
high-rise has a caring center for
"retired" sniffer dogs, many local
residents were keen to adopt
them.
The center put up
a notice on its official microblog
earlier this week and was flooded
with replies.
"Father Sun"
picked the new master himself
yesterday from three families for Mao
Mao, who Sun said was his
"favorite child."
He said he
was proud of Mao Mao because it
had worked for 10 months at the
World Expo 2010 Shanghai to ensure the
safety of the site and was
labelled an "Expo hero."
Sun
chose Ni, who works in the
automobile business, as the new master
for Mao Mao. The 35-year-old Ni
lives in a villa with his wife
near Hongqiao International Airport and
had a golden retriever for 10
years.
"Well behaved, my good
girl," Sun said of Mao Mao. He
also handed over a bag of Mao
Mao's favorite food to
Ni.
"I raised Mao Mao
because it reminds me of my
previous pet, a 10-year-old golden
retriever who passed away several
years ago," Ni told Shanghai
Daily.
Ni said he had
the experience of taking care of
dogs.
"I will make a
special diet and accompany her to
do some sports every day," he
added.
The training company
will also provide free life-long
physical inspections and medical services
routinely at Mao Mao's new
master's home, Sun
said.
The other three dogs,
a Labrador and two Springers, were
also adopted by local citizens. The
new masters signed adoption contracts
with Sun to take good care of
the dogs.
