Burma Dog Names

Police Lance Corporal Aung Phite was matched with a five-month-old German Shepherd puppy named Michael; Phite would be the handler and Michael, the sniffer dog. Their bond grew such that Phite referred to Michael as his “Son”. Sadly, Michael passed away at five years old from gastrointestinal problems after more than four years as a member of Rangoon’s police bomb squad team. The death of Michael drew a lot of public attention; after all, Michael was the most popular of the country’s sniffer dogs as the only one from the bomb squad that took on duties at public events and state-level occasions. Michael was always willing to take selfies and let his fans pet him and his death brought attention to the difficult working lives of Burma’s sniffer dogs, as well as the struggles faced by their handlers.

Aung Phite and his wife Myint New Win stated that it is possible that the cause of Michael’s death was intense fatigue, resulting from his often eating irregularly and carrying out back-to-back missions. Michael, after all, was the only sniffer dog on duty in the biggest city in Burma. As a sniffer dog, Michael got a salary; he received 40,000 kyats per month (the equivalent of just under 30 US dollars) for his work. This was not enough to cover his costs and his handler family petitioned the authorities to seek an increase in his allowance so that his costs could be covered. The police chief of Rangoon stepped in to help, providing 1,600 kyats per day of his own money, specifically for Michael. Aung Phite explained that it cost around 4,000-4,000 kyats on a daily basis at a minimum to cover the costs of a dog like Michael. Ma Myint New Win said that breakfast for Michael typically included two boiled eggs and milk and the 70 pound dog would also eat two meals of rice or porridge mixed with chicken each day. These three meals alone cost the couple about 3,000 kyats per day. When Michael needed a major treatment, the couple had to pay the bill in advance.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 136 security dogs serve Burma through different departments of the police force and the army, to include the Crime and Investigation Department (CID), bomb squads and border guard forces. Michael earned his popularity as the most loved sniffer dog among police officials. He passed the police test when he found all 28 real bullets hidden around a stadium; he also assisted his team in finding and disabling four improvised explosive devices in Rangoon as a member of the bomb squad. Since the dogs learn explosive sniffing skills with gunpowder, the work impacts their health. This makes it important that medical care be provided to the dogs regularly. Veterinarian Ko Soe Moe Lin, who is experienced in treating security dogs, stated that the dogs should have a medical check-up on a monthly or bi-monthly basis as the work can adversely impact their health. He also recommends that the dogs receive days off after each mission.