Ex-Drug Sniffer Labrador Fired for Being 'Too Playful' Becomes Taiwan Earthquake Hero

A Labrador dog named Roger, who was trained as a drug-sniffing K9 and was fired for being ‘too playful’ in his job, has made a comeback as a hero in the Taiwan earthquake rescue operation. According to the team, the dog went to the most difficult and treacherous areas around the epicentre to help the needy humans. 

A page on Instagram dedicated to dogs named We Rate Dogs shared a detailed post about Roger, who worked as a saviour in the Taiwan earthquake rescue operation. 

The page wrote, “This is Roger. He specialises in search and rescue in Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. He was originally trained as a drug-sniffing dog as a puppy (frame 6), but he got fired from that role because he kept getting distracted by anyone who would show him attention. That led to his switch to search-and-rescue missions. Taiwan suffered an earthquake last week that was their strongest in 25 years, but they’re receiving praise for their preparedness and quick response, Roger included. Roger’s alerts in the treacherous area around the epicentre allowed the team to locate three bodies, including one just five minutes after arriving.” 

Further, they wrote, “He has won the hearts of everybody, not only for being a symbol of hope, but for his boisterous nature. He lunged at a reporter’s microphone during a press conference (frame 4) and quickly destroyed a toy given to him by the mayor (frame 5). The 8-year-old labrador will retire from service soon, with so much to be proud of.”

They also described how he was transferred to the search-and-rescue missions from being a drug-sniffing dog because he was too playful and could be distracted by anything easily.

After being shared, this post has gotten more than 1 lakh votes and 547 comments.

People’s Reaction In The Comments:

People in the comments section also praised Roger's heroics. 

One user said, “Not all heroes wear capes… some are just cutie patooties who lunge at microphones.”

A second one said, “Bro wasn't born to be a cop, he was born to be a hero.”

“He didn’t get fired, he got a promotion! Way to go Roger!,” said another one. 

A user said, “Roger is an expert in search and rescue, but also an expert in the importance of work life balance, making always time for play whether microphone or actual dog toy.”