The world of canines wanting to become police dogs in Australia is tough as the case of Gavel, a Queensland German Shepard proves; he got the boot for being too soft!
Gavel went through all the training required, but during certain exercises, he would go AWOL and was found in his cosy barracks playing with his favorite plush toy, a pink elephant, instead of sniffing drugs, attacking officers dressed as criminals, and doing nightly guard duty. In fact, Gavel, was caught dozing off one night. He was reported to his chief officer and reprimanded. His punishment, no doggy biscuits, just dry bones for three days.
The police officer handling Gavel always noticed he had a soft touch, but loved him so much he refused to surrender to Gavel's softer side. He would give his favorite dog extra training in an attempt to harden him up, but to no avail; once a softy, always a softy.
On one particular exercise, sniffing drugs in a local brothel, Gavel jumped on a prostitutes bed, laid on his back, stuck his legs in the air hoping the lady of the night would give him a quick belly stroke, she obliged, then demanded payment!
After his final stint of training it was obvious to the corps that Gavel was quite useless and his career as a police dog was terminated! He is now working for a diplomat's family as a security dog, but still prefers playing with his owners children instead of barking at unwelcome guests invited for illustrious dinner parties!
It's a dog's life trying to be a real dog!
