Meet Our Dogs

Our first 2 dogs, Fanny and Alex graduated in June 2002 from Mine Detection School in southern Bosnia. They now work under the direction of NATO's Stabilization force.

Originally from Hungary, these 3 year old German Shepherd Dogs have undergone 6 months of training with their handlers in obedience, retrieval, scent detection and search patterns. Local training like this is conducted under the expert direction and support of the Canadian International Demining Corps (CIDC).

Today, Alex and Fanny are based in the CIDC Corps kennels located near Trebinje in southern Bosnia. Close to the borders with both Montenegro and Croatia, this is a Mediterranean climate that is conducive to year-round operations.

Pax and Nightingale have since been trained and joined the team of landmine detection dogs working in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Check out the vital stats of these great teams!

Team number One: Alex and Zarko

ALEX:
Origin: Hungary
Breed: German Shepherd

Claim to fame: Met Queen Elizabeth II in Toronto in October 2002. Was
interviewed on Canada AM too!

Handler
Name: Zarko Budincic
Date of birth: April 23, 1973
Address: Trebinje
Family members: Mother, Father, Wife
Interests: sports, science, foreign languages
Sponsored by: Three Dog Bakery

Team Number Two: Fanny and Zeijko

FANNY
Origin: Hungary
Breed: German Shepherd

Handler
Name: Zeljko Danilovic
Date of birth: October 2, 1979
Address: Trebinje
Family members: Father, Mother, Sister
Interests: music, spending time with friends

Sponsored by: Three Dog Bakery

Team Number Three: Pax and Miljan

PAX:
Origin: Hungary
Breed: German Shepherd

Handler
Name: Miljan Zirojevic
Ethnicity: Serb
Date of birth: February 22, 1980
Address: Vojkovici 245 A, S. Sarajevo
Family members: Father, Mother, Sister
Interests: Soccer and basketball

Sponsored by: Canada's Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program and schools across the country

Pax was recently named through the "I Need A Name" contest by Ally of Toronto! Thanks, Ally!

Team Number Four: Nightingale and Damir

NIGHTINGALE
Origin: Hungary
Breed: German Shepherd

Handler
Name: Damir Garibovic
Nationality/Ethnicity: Bosniak (Muslim)
Date of birth: March 29, 1976
Home address: Azize Sacirbegovic 128, Sarajevo
Languages: English
Interests: Soccer (particularly English Premier League) and Basketball

Sponsored by: Elmwood School, Ottawa
Named after: Elmwood School Nightingale House

	Meet Our Dogs
German Shepherd Dogs Our Training Our Bond "I Need a Name" contest Canine Courier: subscribe Canine Courier: current issue	Our first 2 dogs, Fanny and Alex graduated in June 2002 from Mine Detection School in southern Bosnia. They now work under the direction of NATO's Stabilization force. Originally from Hungary, these 3 year old German Shepherd Dogs have undergone 6 months of training with their handlers in obedience, retrieval, scent detection and search patterns. Local training like this is conducted under the expert direction and support of the Canadian International Demining Corps (CIDC). Today, Alex and Fanny are based in the CIDC Corps kennels located near Trebinje in southern Bosnia. Close to the borders with both Montenegro and Croatia, this is a Mediterranean climate that is conducive to year-round operations. Pax and Nightingale have since been trained and joined the team of landmine detection dogs working in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Check out the vital stats of these great teams! Team number One: Alex and Zarko ALEX: Origin: Hungary Breed: German Shepherd Claim to fame: Met Queen Elizabeth II in Toronto in October 2002. Was interviewed on Canada AM too! Handler Name: Zarko Budincic Date of birth: April 23, 1973 Address: Trebinje Family members: Mother, Father, Wife Interests: sports, science, foreign languages Sponsored by: Three Dog Bakery Team Number Two: Fanny and Zeijko FANNY Origin: Hungary Breed: German Shepherd Handler Name: Zeljko Danilovic Date of birth: October 2, 1979 Address: Trebinje Family members: Father, Mother, Sister Interests: music, spending time with friends Sponsored by: Three Dog Bakery Team Number Three: Pax and Miljan PAX: Origin: Hungary Breed: German Shepherd Handler Name: Miljan Zirojevic Ethnicity: Serb Date of birth: February 22, 1980 Address: Vojkovici 245 A, S. Sarajevo Family members: Father, Mother, Sister Interests: Soccer and basketball Sponsored by: Canada's Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program and schools across the country Pax was recently named through the "I Need A Name" contest by Ally of Toronto! Thanks, Ally! Team Number Four: Nightingale and Damir NIGHTINGALE Origin: Hungary Breed: German Shepherd Handler Name: Damir Garibovic Nationality/Ethnicity: Bosniak (Muslim) Date of birth: March 29, 1976 Home address: Azize Sacirbegovic 128, Sarajevo Languages: English Interests: Soccer (particularly English Premier League) and Basketball Sponsored by: Elmwood School, Ottawa Named after: Elmwood School Nightingale House	Did You Know...? Dogs can smell things humans can't because they have more nasal membrane than we do. We have about 65 square inches of nasal membrane, while dogs have about 900 square inches -- an area that's greater than that of a dog's whole body!