Meet latest addition to Turkish gendarmerie's aquatic search dogs

Assisting gendarmerie squads in difficult tasks in disaster areas, especially floods, underwater search dogs play an important role in aquatic search missions.

Mavi is a rookie compared to his veteran colleagues but the newest member of the Turkish gendarmerie proved his mettle in one year. The Labrador became an invaluable asset to the gendarmerie unit he joined in 2021 by helping them locate bodies, Ankara, Türkiye, Dec. 2, 2022.

He is on a regular training mission on Lake Mavi (Blue), which he is named after, in the capital Ankara. Here is Mavi looking toward a target.

A view of the search boat from high above.

Each dog is cared for by officers and wears rubber-soled footwear to protect their paws on land and life vests, bearing the colors of gendarmerie uniforms, while on the boat.

Mavi perched over the boat, sniffing the air for his search target.

After a while, his head turns to the sky as he barks before turning it back to the water. Fellow officers stop the boat and lean over the surface of the water, pulling a mannequin from the exact spot Mavi directed them to. Attached to the leg of the mannequin is a cadaver, used for training missions. With his mission accomplished, Mavi retreats to another corner of the boat, awaiting his next training session.

Training mission complete, Mavi and the gendarmerie team head back to base.