Heroic Security Dog Xenophanes Receives Chief’s Award for Locating Missing Person

Xenophanes, a security dog, and his handler at Ome Police Station

Ome Police Station honored Xenophanes, a 5-year-old male German shepherd and security dog of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Security Bureau, with a certificate of commendation for his outstanding service in locating a missing person in the mountains of Ome City, Tokyo.

Xenophanes has been working as a security dog, utilizing his skills in searching for victims at disaster sites. Notably, he was also involved in security operations during the Tokyo Olympics.

On August 24th, a call was made to 110 reporting an 81-year-old woman missing from her home in the city. The police station’s mountain rescue team and others conducted a search, but by the time the sun had set, Xenophanes was dispatched at 8:30 a.m. the following morning. Thirty-four minutes later, the woman was found sitting near a mountain stream.

At the award ceremony, Police Chief Takuya Fukuda presented the Chief’s Award to Xenophanes’ handler from the Security Department’s Security Division 2. Chief Fukuda praised the handler’s achievements, saying, “It was a tough scene with heavy rain, but the missing person had brought a GPS with them, and the high ability of the guard dog led to an early rescue.”

Xenophanes’ achievement marks a significant milestone, as he is the first security dog to locate a survivor since the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake, when a two-year-old boy was found after 92 hours.