Jacob shares spotlight with four-legged friends

THE dogs were the guests of honour since they were the subjects of the book Police Dogs of Trinidad and Tobago: A 70-Year History.

Author Debbie Jacob, who is also a Newsday columnist, said it was the product of 14 years of research, interviews and hands-on experience.

Having already written five Caribbean Studies companions, three children's fiction books, a collection of short stories and three non fiction books, Jacob wrote her 13th book on a subject she has written many articles and columns about.

The book's cover features a photo of now-retired police dog Adina and her handler Cpl Malissa Narine.

The launch, held on July 13 at the Cascade/St Ann's Community Centre, saw human and animal guests. Adina, Jacob's dog Hart (also a retired, blind police dog), as well as police dogs in training attended.

The dogs all starred at the launch, each getting their turn to take a confident strut across the stage. One also demonstrated what training to find drugs is like, which got many cheers from an attentive audience.

Jacob recalled a police dog "mastering the art of taking a meatball from (her) hands without touching it," laughing at the fond memories.

She said her work with the dogs of the Canine Unit in writing this book taught her about loyalty, perseverance, love and trust.

She also praised the canine officers, saying their job takes "extraordinary courage.

"All of them will face the death of at least one loyal police partner, and they never forget those moments...I saw many canine officers sob over dogs they had lost in the last week or few years."

She spent time with puppies at the Canine Unit base in Cumuto who went on to be police dogs, during the covid19 pandemic. It was then she was given the unofficial title of Sergeant of Puppy Hugs.

The breeds most often encountered are Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds and labradors.

She said her work with the unit also taught her "the most invaluable life lesson," which is to trust your instincts.

Police dogs are part of Trinidad and Tobago's history, she added.

Expanding on this during a phone interview on July 19, Jacob said the book starts in 1952 and looks at 70 years of canine history, and is based on records kept by the police service.

"Some officers were good at record keeping while some kept no records at all," she said.

Jacob said in the 50s and 60s, dogs were chasing suspects who ran away from cops on the streets and used to track down fugitives in forests.

"It wasn't until the early 70s that we had dogs for drug detection."

Police dogs assisted in securing the capital after the July 11, 2005 dustbin bomb attack in Port of Spain in which Yvonne McIvor's leg was blown off. A total of 14 people were injured.

They also cleared the streets following the discovery of a grenade near the Port of Spain prison after three prisoners, Christopher "Monster" Selby, 30, Hassan Atwell, 41, and Allan "Scanny" Martin, 42, escaped from the Port of Spain Prison at about 12.30 pm.

Hart, who she said is a Belgian Malinois, is ten years old and has been with Jacob since he retired at seven. Born in Slovakia, he worked in the US and then came to Trinidad as part of a US embassy programme to work with the TTPS.

Jacob said it is important to have good leadership for canine officers and dogs.

"Emotion from the officers filters down to the dogs; this is a department that needs happy officers."

Part of an international series called Dogs In Our World, the 229-page book was edited by Brian Patrick Duggan. It was published by McFarland and Company, Inc, Publishers of North Carolina, US.

It's on sale at Paper Based Bookshop, St Clair, Port of Spain, and via Amazon (digital and physical).