15 dogs who provided an invaluable service for several years were awarded and retired out by the Office of the Attorney General

• With these dogs, there is a total of 51 dogs that have already been retired out from the institution after contributing to the fight against crime and the dismantling of criminal organizations. 
• The Office of the Attorney General will strengthen the canine training school in Cáqueza (Cundinamarca) to train the new pairs in the various specialties. 

15 dogs who supported the investigative work of the institution for several years were awarded by the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, during a ceremony. 

Among the dogs there are 9 Labrador Retrievers, 4 Golden Retrievers, 1 Belgian Malinois and 1 German Shepherd specialized in detecting explosives, drugs, human remains. They carried out their work at the headquarters, Santander, Norte de Santander, Bolívar, Cartagena , Huila, Tolima, Antioquia, Nariño, Risaralda, Cauca and Chocó. 

Their names are Canela, Mona, Queen, Rex, Shantal, Yango, Zeus, Thor, Ronda, Max, Tobby, Teo, Ania, Sasha and Tribilín. This is the fourth award and retirement ceremony carried out by the institution, and today it retires out 51 dogs. 

All were part of the Canine Support Group which is made up of 44 public servants and 90 dogs at the national level and trained in different specialties, providing their services in different Sectional Offices of the country. 

These four-legged friends were entrusted with important tasks such as the security of the Attorney General, of the institution and of its 25 thousand members. Due to their training, they also detect human remains allowing many victims to find their loved ones and compensate part of the damage caused by illegal groups. 

“They have been partners in the fight against crime in this country, they have been partners in the fight against crime in different national territories and they have allowed the dismantling of criminal groups, but they have done that not only next to our officials, it has become a symbiosis of work and a signature of the Office of the Attorney General, the group of dogs”, emphasized the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa, during the retirement ceremony. 

Next to these valuable four-legged beings are their guides; men who have created almost family ties with them. They are an educated and trained couple at the Canine Training Center (Centro de Adiestramiento Canino) in Caqueza (Cundinamarca). 

In this regard, the Attorney General stated that this center will be strengthened with the aim of training canine teams (guide and dog) in different specialties, in addition to carrying out regular training. 

“Those little animals that arrive, those trained guides, those guides who are going to go over all territories of Colombia continue producing results to the country,” concluded the Attorney General. 

Leaving a legacy 

Behind each canine that retires today, there are countless stories. One of these stories is the one of Teo, the 9-year-old Golden Retriever who was at the service of the Anti-Explosive Group of the Sectional Office in Nariño. For seven years he participated in  several proceedings with his team Willington Alexánder Montenegro Martínez and Yair Alfonso Montenegro Galindres, the CTI investigators of that expert group who, together with Duglas Dimitry Guerrero Medina, were ambushed and killed on the road Tumaco- Pasto on July 11, 2018. 

Since that day, the anti-explosives area almost disappeared in Nariño. In spite of their absence, Teo continued with his mission and together with his guide Carlos Fernando Caicedo, arrested those allegedly responsible for the death of the investigators. 

On the other hand, there is the story of Sasha, who was the key piece in an investigation of the Exhumations Group. Due to the training in anti-explosives, it was possible to  enter into an area and recover the corpses of the two Ecuadorian citizens who were murdered in Barbacoas (Nariño) by the residual group Óliver Sinisterra under the leadership of alias Guacho. 

Gelma group  

This administration has prioritized, through its Strategic Direction, the animal protection. Due to the strengthening of the Gelma Group at the Office of the Attorney General, 45 people have been accused, 1877 cases are under investigation and 50 cases are on trial. “This is one of the outstanding actions that has been carried out at the Office of the Attorney General”, revealed the Attorney General. 

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.