TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei Police Department K9 Unit’s “Lucky Star” the yellow Labrador will retire after seven years of service.
Born on May 9, 2017, Lucky Star has five siblings, namely Schuman, Federica, Eagle, AJ, and Sunny, per CBS News. They can be seen yawning and sleeping as newborns in a Facebook post on June 8, 2017.
“When they first opened their eyes, they were as innocent and coquettish as little children, and a little shy in front of the camera,” the post said. “The dog handlers from the K9 unit put a lot of effort into training, grooming, and feeding them.”
Seven years later, the six puppies have reached retirement age and the unit is preparing to find families for them, per CNA. Lin Chih-lun (林志倫), a handler who has been with Lucky Star for seven years, has dibs on the dog.
Lucky Star was trained as a blood detection dog. Ma Ching-chi (馬清基), head of the unit, said these kinds of dogs can detect almost imperceptible traces of blood at a crime scene even after it has been cleaned up, allowing the forensics team to collect evidence for investigation.
Lin said Lucky Star was incredibly cute when young. After setting up a Facebook fan page for Lucky Star, the number of fans exceeded 10,000. He later set up an Instagram account, where the Labrador gained even more followers, reaching over 40,000.
Lin, who is unmarried, considers the K9 unit his family. To adopt Lucky Star, he is considering buying a house in Sanxia District for them to live together.
