Mine detection dogs: the famous and fearless dogs trained by the Cynophilist Group of the Italian Army in the Military Veterinary Center of Grosseto (Italy)

They arrive from every part of Europe and represent every race. They are military officers in every respect. After 8 months of intense training they are able to locate every type of explosive and are indispensable in the clearing of mined lands world wide. They are the dogs expressly trained by the Cynophilist Group of the Italian Army in the Military Veterinary Center of Grosseto. They just live in symbiosis with their "human leader", in a total relationship and mutual confidence. They are able to search a car or a bus also alone, they does not have fear to parachute themselves together with their leader and if necessary they can operate 24 hours a day. They make all that only for love, dedication, affection....and an old age pension. Actually they work in Afghanistan, Macedonia, Iraq, Kosovo, but also outside from the stadiums in Italy, or control the crowd during the distribution of the alimentary aids in Africa. An Italian Plan for the dog training was created on 2001, but the excellent outcomes obtained in a such short time are interesting the USA Army and the Animal Defence Centre in England, one of the most important school for the dogs military training. The motto for training these dogs to a such important and dangerous task is "never dressed down, always rewarded". Daily life, personal histories, anecdotes and demonstrations on the field characterize this story.

(Text on request by Gianni Perotti)

Reportage: 80 photos on CD-Rom