We’ve had some sad news from Garamba this week.
Qualla, one of the original dogs from the K9 unit created with our support in 2018/2019, has passed away. It is thought she died from a snake bite.
The other five dogs who started in the unit – Rocky, Dano, Perla, Pax and Hina – are all still working and are fit and well. Perla, a beautiful alsatian bitch is due to retire from service in the autumn.
Qualla was very striking with a black face, nut brown coat and white blase on her chest. A Belgian Malinois in great physical condition, she was always alert with her huge ears pricked up, and keen to run! She loved playing with her ‘Kong’ toy, a reward for good work.
Qualla was paired with handler, Kini, although it is commonplace for the dogs and handlers to swap around so we also saw her work very well with Ayifa and Tandema.
Rob and I went on a tracking exercise in the park with Qualla and Kini in August 2019 when we were invited to visit Garamba by African Parks – here are a couple of pictures I took of her. Qualla will be a huge loss to the unit.
