from chinapost.com
Lucky and Flo, the two sniffer dogs that cramped Malaysia's DVD pirates by ferreting out millions of illegal discs, will get a hero's farewell when their six-month assignment ends next week, an official said Thursday.
The two black Labradors -- said to be the first in the world trained to sniff out discs -- will receive a medal of honor for their service at a farewell party next Monday before they return home to New York City this month, said Nor Hayati Yahaya, the Motion Picture Association's manager for Malaysia.
"We will have an award-giving ceremony. [Lucky and Flo] will get a memento for all their successful activities during their stay here...they've been very spot-on," Nor Hayati said.
Lucky and Flo -- on loan from the U.S.-based association -- helped make 26 arrests and uncover pirated DVDs, VCDs and equipment worth US$6 million (euro4.6 million) since they came to Malaysia in March, Nor Hayati said. She said that out of the 2.7 million discs seized so far this year, nearly 2 million were unearthed by the two female dogs.
"The biggest seizures were done during their first month of operation...their presence has made a significant impact on the pirates in Malaysia," Nor Hayati said.
The dogs are trained to sniff the chemical in the discs. They cannot distinguish between pirated and legal discs, but that part of the job is easily done by enforcement officers once the dogs have unearthed the caches. In at least one instance, the dogs were able to uncover secret rooms behind a false wall.
Nor Hayati said the raids by the dogs may have cramped the movie pirates but not crippled them. She said fake DVDs, especially at night markets, remain a problem.
Still, the dogs have raised awareness about movie piracy because the local media, enamored of the dogs, reported on almost every raid they were involved in, she said.
With the departure of Lucky and Flo, the campaign against illegal movies in Malaysia will not stop.
The Motion Picture Association and Malaysia's Domestic Trade Ministry are selecting two new dogs to be trained in Ireland by the same trainer who taught Lucky and Flo.
Nor Hayati said the trainer was considering several dogs, and two could arrive in Malaysia later this year to form the country's first permanent canine unit to fight movie piracy.
Illegal movie disc production is a big problem in Malaysia, where fake DVDs and VCDs are easily available. According to the Malaysian government, 5 million discs were seized in more than 2,000 raids nationwide last year.