Emirati women score high as dog trainers

Dubai: The first two Emirati women to train police dogs are setting the stage for other females to enter into that field, which has largely been a man's domain.

Fatima Abdullah and Badria Saleh have achieved a first by becoming dog trainers at Dubai Police.

The two were selected by a special committee that was formed following orders from Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police, as the importance of police dogs in security missions grows.

Major Abdul Salam Al Shamsi, Director of Dubai Police's Canine Department told Gulf News that police dogs have become a major factor in solving many crimes in security missions, in or out of the country.

He said the idea to have female canine trainers has been there for a while, especially to keep up with the developments of the city.

"The goal of training female canine trainers is to involve women in this field, as they have certain abilities and skills to deal with dogs and some security missions require females," Major Al Shamsi said.

He said training dogs requires a lot of patience and emotions and "women possess that naturally". "Therefore, women give more than men at times because they are dealing with creatures which also have feelings," said the police official.

"We had specified the standards of choosing the trainers. The basic standards included, being part of Dubai Police force, possessing a university or high school graduate qualifications and being physically fit, to help in coping with the training methods," said Major Al Shamsi.

The selected women went through basic training after which they will go through the qualification and then specialised coaching.

"The tasks of the female trainers will be coaching dogs on various missions, but they will also have the preventative role, which is based on spreading education about dogs and their importance in police missions at women associations, schools and colleges," he said.

Major Al Shamsi said the department aims to form a team of six women to be dogs trainers.

The two women, who have been working in the police force, but in different departments, said they wanted to get into the field, as it is a new challenge for women.

Gulf News spoke to them about their new tasks, expectations and challenges.

Fatima Abdullah said she was initially employed to work at a prison and came to know that police were searching for female canine trainers.

"I wanted to become part of this department, first because it is a new field for women here and secondly because I love animals and we have many pets at home, including a dog," she said.

Fatima said after she started training the dogs she got attached to the animals even more and she did not find any difficulties in getting along with her new tasks.

"I encourage women in the country to join this discipline because it is a new, yet challenging and exciting field," she said.

On the other hand, Badria Saleh said she joined the department because she had previous interaction with dogs. "Before joining this department, I worked at the inspections section at the World Trade Centre and many searches used to involve police dogs. Therefore, I am familiar with the animals and find it an interesting discipline," she said.

Badria said she instantly felt a special connection with the canines. She also urged other women to rise up to the occasion and enter the field.