Ticos hold funeral for perished police pooch

In a small and moving funeral ceremony Sunday, officers with the Costa Rican Public Security Ministry laid to rest one of their fellow officers, a Belgian Malinois named Kindra. The dog had passed away just hours before, from an illness.

Kindra served as an official police dog for eight years. Her breed is commonly used in police work and search and rescue missions around the world. She was born in to the Costa Rican canine unit and started training as a puppy. She lived to be nine human years, about 68 in dog years.

In 2013 alone, Kindra completed more than 70 jobs, including 25 site reviews for President Chinchilla and 15 searches in Juan Santamaría International Airport. She was in charge of site inspections for the areas that Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping visited. Her searches produced 88 flares, 40 makeshift smoke bombs, six M40 grenades, guns and rifles.

The funeral was conducted on the premises of the MPS Special Unit, in the company of other dogs and their official guides.

“We regret this loss,” said Roberto Ortega, head of the Canine Unit. “Kindra was … a companion, a living being who accompanied us on many jobs and for eight years.”

The Costa Rican Canine Unit was created in 1988 and currently employs 38 dogs.