A veteran sniffer dog at Yokohama Customs specially trained to weed out illegal drugs has retired after seven years of service.
Daniel, an 8-year-old Labrador retriever, was given a retirement ceremony last week. He was replaced by Amala, a 2-year-old female German shepherd, customs officials said.
In terms of human age, an 8-year-old dog is about 60. The maximum period during which a sniffer dog can work is about seven years, the officials said. The Yokohama Customs office has nine sniffer dogs.
During his seven years on duty starting in December 2002, Daniel has been instrumental in nine drug-smuggling cases, according to the officials.
The Lab, which they said is still "naughty" and in good health, will be taken in by a dog-loving family in Kanagawa Prefecture.
"Thank you for your hard work in the past seven years," customs officer Tomoko Ando, who worked with Daniel for years, told the dog during the ceremony. "From now on, I would like to make a good team with Amala in our fight against drug-smuggling."
