Six months after sniffing their way to fame in Malaysia, Labrador crime dogs Lucky and Flo were awarded medals last Monday for "outstanding service" in tracking down pirated discs.
The exploits of the canine sleuths, who nosed out around 21 million ringgit (US$ 6 million) in illegal merchandise during their half-year stint, endeared them to Malaysians and regularly landed them on the front pages here.
The Malaysian government said more than 2.7 million illegal discs have been seized this year - some two million of which were uncovered by the dogs, who were to return to the United States later in the day.
Photo: EPA
"Lucky and Flo have done us proud," said Dan Glickman, chairman and chief executive of the US-based Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which sent over the canines.
"Our canine colleagues proved valued friends in the war against optical disc piracy," he said.
The pair were so successful that Malaysian crime syndicates had put a bounty on their heads.
The three-year-old dogs are from Northern Ireland. They are trained to sniff chemicals in discs but cannot distinguish between pirated and legal versions - a job they leave to humans.
Lucky's talent was first discovered when she was given up by her owner, who could not control her voracious appetite for chewing up shoes and furniture.
Their handler Mick Buchan said the duo will probably work until they are about 10, after which they would be retired - and most likely adopted by their handlers.
He said stories of the dogs being wanted dead had outraged British animal lovers.
"The British sometimes love their pets more than their own children," he said.
(AFP)
歷經六個月，在馬來西亞一嗅成名的拉布拉多獵犬「來福」和「小花」，由於協助查緝盜版光碟立下了大功，上星期一獲頒「傑出服務」獎章。
過去半年來，這兩隻靈犬嗅出了價值大約兩千一百萬令吉（六百萬美元）的非法商品。這項功績為牠們贏得了馬來西亞人的喜愛，並且經常登上報紙的頭版。
馬來西亞政府表示，今年查獲了超過兩百七十萬張盜版光碟，其中有大約兩百萬張是這兩隻靈犬協助偵破的。牠們當晚就要返回美國。
美國電影協會營運總裁丹．克利克曼說：「來福和小花讓我們感到很光榮。」該協會為兩隻靈犬原隸屬的單位。
他說：「我們的靈犬同仁證明了在打擊盜版光碟保衛戰裡，牠們是我們珍貴的朋友。」
由於這對靈犬表現太好，馬來西亞犯罪集團已經懸賞追殺牠們。
這兩隻靈犬今年三歲，原產地為北愛爾蘭。牠們受過訓練，能嗅出製作光碟片的化學原料氣味，但無法辨別是盜版或正版光碟，必須交由執法人員負責。
「來福」的主人因為受不了牠愛亂咬鞋子和家具的毛病而將牠拋棄，結果被人發現牠的天賦。
教練米克:普前說這兩隻靈犬會持續服務到十歲左右才會退休，之後很有可能會由牠們的管理人領養。
他說英國愛狗人士對於想要殺害這兩隻狗的傳聞感到非常憤怒。
他說：「英國人有時候愛寵物的程度甚至比愛自己的孩子還來得高。」
（法新社／翻譯：楊鴻泰）
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