Sarawak Fire Dept mourns loss of canine hero Cliff

SERIAN - Cliff, the search and rescue dog belonging to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), who succumbed to cancer on Dec 25, was a loyal comrade in the line of duty.

The body of the English Springer Spaniel, born on January 1, 2016, was laid to rest at the Serian Fire and Rescue Station grounds here today.

Reflecting on shared memories, his trainer Steven Ambu, 47, who had been with Cliff since 2018, described the dog as intelligent and obedient.

He said that Cliff, a Cadaver discipline dog with expertise in detecting corpses or missing persons, was also very friendly.

"I have many memories with Cliff. He had a hyper character and was very friendly," he said, appearing emotional while speaking to reporters after the burial.

Khirudin (second, left) with K9 team paying their last respect to Cliff during its burial today. Photo by Bernama

Meanwhile, Sarawak JBPM director, Datuk Khirudin Drahman expressed that the loss of Cliff, who had been with his team for almost seven years, is a significant one.

"Every time we carried out an operation, Cliff was always at the forefront, and his dedication was evident. He was also able to adapt very well to the weather conditions in Sarawak.

"Sometimes, in operations that took two to three hours to reach areas like Miri and Baram, we could still bring Cliff along on a helicopter," he said.

Khirudin also said that Sarawak JBPM would begin the process of replacing the dogs owned by it this year.

He said the procurement effort needed to be carried out as all five of his existing dogs are now old and have reached seven years of service.

An allocation of RM12 million had been approved by the Federal government for the purpose of the replacement, he said.

"Efforts to make replacements with these new dogs is necessary to strengthen our capabilities. Dogs that are old their efficiency rate will also decrease," he said.

Khirudin said the five dogs belonging to Sarawak JBPM now consisted of two forensic dogs, two from the Wilderness discipline used for forest operations and one Cadaver to track dead bodies or missing persons.

"They were bought in 2018 brought from the United Kingdom at a price of about RM 124,000 each," he said. - BERNAMA