China launched its first association for police dogs in Beijing Thursday.
Vice-Minister of Public Security Bai Jingfu said the Police Dog Management Association is a national non-profit organization with members from the police, the army and customs. Civilian dog owners were also welcome.
It is estimated that the number of working police dogs in China has surpassed 10,000.
These dogs are divided into 30 kinds according to international conventions and are named differently according to their functions. For instance, a dog used to guide the blind is called a guide dog, while a dog used to detect narcotics is called a sniffer dog.
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2002)
