'We Had No Choice': Runaway Bomb Sniffing Dog Shot Dead in Auckland Airport

A sniffer dog in New Zealand was shot dead in Auckland airport after it went berserk.

Grizz is a 10-month-old bearded collie who was training to be a bomb sniffing dog. According to CNN, the dog ran from his handler on the airfield, causing delay to more than a dozen flight. He was supposed to graduate in six months time.

An update on the Auckland Airport's official Twitter account said they had already captured the dog and contained the situation. However hours later, they posted another update saying the dog had been killed.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman said they had tried everything to lure Grizz back to his handler, but all tricks have failed and they had no choice but to order the police to him dead. They reportedly chased Grizz for three hours.

"We tried everything, food, toys, other dogs, but nothing would work ... In these difficult circumstances the Airport's Emergency Operations Center team decided to have the dog destroyed," the statement read.

Meanwhile, The Guardian quoted Inspector Tracy Phillips of Counties Manukau District Police who said the Aviation Security Service (Avsec) had made "considerable efforts" to catch Grizz.

"Our thoughts are with the Avsec dog handler involved. This is not an outcome which anyone wanted, and police were only asked to be involved as a last resort," he said.

The decision of the authorities to shoot the dog as last resort fueled ire all around the globe. "Auckland Airport" became a trending topic on Twitter. Many of the commenters asked why they did not opt for a tranquilizer or why did they not shoot the poor dog on his legs instead.

Sydney Morning Herald notes that Aviation Security's explosive detector dogs (EDD) have different jobs than the customs and MPI pups. Each EDD has a human partner, which is supposed to train him to have the qualities of an EDD such as being friendly, sociable and non-aggressive. He is also supposed to love toys. They are considered to be important in airports as their presence could deter possible explosives being smuggled in the area.