AFP high-risk explosive detection dog Ando will perform his last sniff and search this week at Cairns Airport as he wraps up six years of paw-some service.
Ando, 7, started his AFP career in 2019 working at Sydney Airport. Since then, he has performed thousands of explosive sweeps.
Since relocating to Queensland's tropics in late 2022, the canine's day to day has involved patrolling Cairns Airport, both landside and airside, and going onto planes and baggage carousels to detect any threats.
Led by his handler Constable Joel Preston, Ando can work off-lead using hand directions, silent whistlers and lasers at a distance.
Career highlights for the highly respected canine include providing safety and security at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in March 2024, and the official Royal visit of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla in October 2024.
Ando was responsible for clearing the King's personal vehicle and venues around Canberra from explosives.
Constable Preston said Ando was good at remembering patterns and learnt best through self-reinforcement.
"All of our dogs are superstars, and we are proud of Ando's hard work over the years," Const Preston said.
He noted the unique qualities required for the job.
"Dogs conducting detection work sniff between five to 10 times a second, inhaling with one nostril and exhaling through the other," he said.
"Their smell processing capacity is 40 times stronger than humans, and studies have shown they can find a scent as faint as one part per million."
There'll certainly be plenty of new scents to explore in retirement.
"Ando will spend his retirement going to the beach and swimming and hiking through rainforests in Cairns," Const Preston said.
High-risk explosive detection dogs (HREDD) have a high attention to detail and are used at airports and major events to check for explosives and other hazardous items.
The AFP introduced the HREDD capability in 2023, making it a first for Australian law enforcement.
Through extensive, four-month long training with AFP trainers, HREDDs have the ability to work off-lead independently away from their handler, providing handlers significant safety enhancements.
The AFP has the largest law enforcement explosive detection dog capability in the Southern Hemisphere, with 58 explosive detection dogs deployed across Australia.
