Alma is no more

By Ilse Rautio
     
      She was quite possibly Finland's most famous drug-detection operative, but now she is no more.
      Alma, a golden Labrador bitch, finally sniffed her last on Wednesday of last week at the ripe old age of fifteen.
      Alma was one of the first professional sniffer dogs on the roster of the Finnish Board of Customs, and was always ready to go into action - often in the arrivals hall or baggage handling areas of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport - whenever she got the order from her handler, Arne Degerlund.
      Helsingin Sanomat's Sunday pages ran a popular series of articles on Alma and her work just after the turn of the millennium, and a couple of the pieces were also featured in the International Edition.
     
Using one's nose so intensively in the line of business is a stressful exercise, but Alma soldiered on in the front line for six years until she went into retirement in 2003.
      In the course of an illustrious career with the Customs, Alma made 200 finds of contraband drugs in luggage, in incoming mail, or on the person of travellers arriving at the airport. Her haul is regarded as a terrific achievement.
     
Although she probably did not rate the incident higher than any others, the jewel in the crown was probably when Alma sniffed out a package of dope being brought in by a young foreign male.
      The man's nervous Finnish girlfriend then insisted on rushing to the lad's assistance while he was being questioned in a room next to the airport arrivals hall.
      Customs officials eventually allowed her in, and Alma promptly scored a double by busting the girl, who was also carrying cannabis on her person.
     
Alma was also not averse to being used for PR gigs in her off-duty moments, and she featured often in Customs brochures, on television, and even in Parliament.
      In spite of pursuing a profession that does not traditionally invite public displays of gratitude or affection, Alma was a very popular figure with travellers through the airport, even if she did steadfastly remain aloof from her customers while she was at work.
      The singular exception to this un-Labradorish indifference to people was of course reserved for any familiar drug-mules who passed by: she greeted them warmly with a cheery and enthusiastic wag of her tail.
     
Arne Degerlund, now a Customs Inspector, did not want to take on a new drug sniffer dog after Alma.
      He is currently on a short leave of absence and has gone to a gardening class in order to throw himself into a quite different world for a bit.
      Degerlund requested that I write that Alma is sadly missed by her colleagues, two-legged and four-legged alike, by her family, and by her other canine friends.
      The neighbourhood cats, however, are less sorry to see her go.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.5.2010


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Alma gets support for her hind leg (6.3.2001)
  Alma wags a brief farewell (31.12.2000)

Links:
  Finnish Customs - Drug Detector Dogs (.pdf file)