The brown-and-white,
perky Momo was one of 32 successful candidates out of 70 dogs, passing a search
and rescue test by finding a person in five minutes after merely sniffing their
cap. "Any breed of dog can be entered to become a police dog in the search
and rescue division," said a Nara police spokesman. But he admitted that
news a Chihuahua had been entered may still come as a surprise to many.
"It's quite unusual," he said.
Television footage showed the 7-year-old Momo bounding
across grass or sitting proudly, long hair blowing in the breeze. Momo will be
used for rescue operations in case of disasters such as earthquakes, in the
hope that she may be able to squeeze her tiny frame into places too narrow for
more usual rescue dogs, which tend to be German Shepherds.
The public response
to the news of Momo's selection took police by surprise, the spokesman said,
adding: "The phone's been ringing all afternoon."
