BEIJING, July 21 -- Police dogs have been sniffing at local airports and Metro lines in Shanghai since early 2003. Now, the special canine team has some new recruits as seven shepherd dogs went on duty at Shanghai Railway Station recently.

    City railway officials said the dogs, six of them imported from Germany, are trained to smell out and remove flammable or explosive articles that can endanger passengers.

    During the two-to-three-hour patrol, the dogs mainly focus on the station's central square, exits, platforms and nearby facilities, such as toilets and dustbins.

    The seven-member squad made its first public appearance on Tuesday evening, with a dog called Harry acting as an explosives searcher, followed by his six mates consisting of an escort team.

    The police dogs are about 55 to 65 centimeters tall and weigh between 31 to 38 kilograms.

    One-year-old Harry was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and went through a strict, three-month training regime before moving to Shanghai.

    "But the other six are still young, only six months old. They came to the city three months ago," said Zhang Guangqi of the Shanghai Railway Public Security Bureau. "They require further training and practice before going on duty officially."

    He said the dogs did not work on a time schedule at present but would make irregular patrols around the station.

    The canines made their official work debut in the city in March 2003 when two quarantine dogs took up position at Pudong International Airport to prevent harmful organisms from entering the city. Last February four pure-bred Labrador Retrievers joined the city's Metro line security inspection team to detect explosives.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)