SAPPORO -- In early May, a video of a police officer rescuing a crying child from a river in Hokkaido's capital went viral on social media. The hero behind the rescue was a 3-year-old female German Shepherd named "Note of Dokeshiso," or just "Note" for short, a Hokkaido Prefectural Police dog.
It was in fact the fourth time Note had found a missing child since her first mission in April 2023. To know how she has logged such a remarkable record, ones needs to only look at her upbringing and her everyday routine.
"Ah, he's here! Here! Here!"
The cry went up as police spotted a 4-year-old boy clinging to the concrete wall of a stream in Sapporo's Minami Ward on May 10. It was already 5:42 p.m., and the boy, suffering from hypothermia, was rescued just in time. According to the Hokkaido police force's Minami Police Station, he had gone missing from his home about 400 meters away about two hours before, apparently having wandered away from home while his father was in the toilet.
The father reported the boy missing to a local police box, initiating a search by police officers, local residents and a police helicopter. Note arrived on the scene with her handler, Senior Police Officer Suzune Shibata, and, guided by the boy's scent from his shoes, traced the 4-year-old through the neighborhood, tugging hard against her leash. The searchers reportedly heard a child crying from the stream about 2.5 meters below a walking path.
"The boy looked like he was about to be swept away, so it was good that we found him just in the nick of time," said Shibata, who has been training Note for about 1 1/2 years. "Note is always serious, and it's nice that word of her effort got around, but really we were able to locate the boy quickly thanks to locals providing report of sightings and security camera footage."
This was not the first time Note had found a child. In June 2023, she discovered a 13-year-old boy who had gone missing after being scolded by his parents, about 500 meters from his home. She also found an 8-year-old girl who went missing in Sapporo and two runaway boys elsewhere in Hokkaido. In each case, Note found the children within about 15 minutes of starting her search.
According to Hokkaido Prefectural Police, Note's level of achievement is exceptional. Why is she so skilled at tracking down children in particular?
"Children's range of movement is limited, which may allow Note's excellent sense of smell to be more effective," Shibata analyzed. However, training a police dog with a keen nose begins with the competition to acquire a puppy with a good lineage.
When one of their dogs retires, Hokkaido police cast their net nationwide to find a promising new puppy -- often the same one being sought by other prefectural police forces, making information gathering and timing crucial.
Note was born in southern Hokkaido, and her paternal great-grandmother was the champion in the tracking event at the 2014 all Japan police dog competition. The Hokkaido force managed to find her after countless calls to private trainers across the country.
But Note's success is also partly due to her handler's "investigative intuition." When a police dog loses a scent, the handler must use eyewitness reports and their past experiences to guide the dog to pick up the trail again. During the search for the 4-year-old boy, Note paused, but Shibata says she directed the dog to likely play areas, enabling the canine to pick up the scent once more.
The key to daily training is "how to keep the dog from getting bored and make things enjoyable," said Shibata. Note, who is very curious, wants to learn and has a big appetite, is trained with treats like chicken jerky and her favorite ball games to keep her motivated.
Sergeant Keiichi Shibata, who assists in Note's training, advises stopping sessions while the dog is still motivated to continue, saying, "It's also important to foster a desire to do more, just like when raising children."
Note is soon to receive a letter of appreciation from the head of Minami Police Station. An overjoyed Shibata said, "Note still has room to grow. I want to continue working together with her and have fun."
(Japanese original by Haruka Ito, Hokkaido City News Department)
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