Pup no one loved now a bomb sniffing expert

Brutus was rescued by the Whangarei SPCA after being dumped at the Oakleigh Service station last March. Photo / SPCA

When they found Brutus he was abandoned, 4 weeks old, had obsessive compulsive disorder and was looking at a life on death row.

Less than a year on, the Whangarei dog is facing a new life in some of the world's most dangerous trouble spots.

Brutus, the pup rescued by the Whangarei SPCA after being dumped at the Oakleigh Service station last March, will soon be heading off overseas for training by a foreign army to sniff out explosives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Part of me is very happy for Brutus and I am so proud of him," Whangarei SPCA animal welfare inspector Helena Sweeting said.

"He is such an amazing and intelligent little dog and he will have a very exciting life. I was also happy to hear he will eventually have his own full-time handler as he is a very affectionate dog," she said.

"But it was very hard for me to let him go, especially potentially to a war-zone where he will be at risk. He was a part of my family for 11 months and I came close to adopting him several times - every time a potential adopter looked at him, then decided to go with something cuter. I know I have made the right decision for him though."

Ms Sweeting said Brutus was like a pup with obsessive compulsive disorder, particularly when playing with balls.

She contacted New Zealand Detector Dogs (NZDD) in December thinking he could be a drug or customs dog and he was put through some basic training which he passed with flying colours. Last month NZDD handler/trainer Guus Knopers came to give him further tests.

He knew within minutes Brutus had what it took and reckoned he was in the top 5 per cent of dogs he had trained in more than 30 years.

"When you've been training dogs that long you just know by looking at a dog sometimes, at what he does. Brutus was one of those dogs and you could see by the way he wanted that ball. You'd throw a ball into long grass and Brutus wouldn't stop looking until he found it."

Trainers from the unnamed foreign - but friendly - army are putting Brutus through his final pre-training today - including scent detection and obedience - but Mr Knopers was "100 per cent certain" that Brutus would make the grade and fly off to a new life soon.

"He'll be part of an army unit, part of the team who will be a very, very valuable and well respected member who will be saving people's lives."