He passed the basic training with flying colours and now Brutus, the dog rescued by Whangarei SPCA, will leave to start a new life sniffing out explosives in some of the world's war-torn danger spots.
Brutus, then 4 weeks old, was rescued after being found dumped at the Oakleigh Service Station in March 2011. But Whangarei SPCA animal welfare inspector Helena Sweeting quickly recognised that he was smarter than the average dog after displaying almost obsessive compulsive behaviour while chasing balls.
She contacted New Zealand Detector Dogs (NZDD) in December and NZDD handler/trainer Guus Knopers took him away last month for further training so he could link up with an unnamed, but friendly, foreign army to carry out explosives detection work.
Mr Knopers said representatives from the army put Brutus through further tests on Tuesday, which he aced.
The pup would fly out soon to go through a 19-week training course before he heads off to do his job protecting soldiers and civilians from explosives in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Ms Sweeting said her delight at seeing Brutus go off for an exciting new life was tempered by the fact he would be going into danger. However, with the expense spent on training him, Brutus would be well looked after.