Russian police will train Welsh corgis as service dogs in the hope that the small shepherd breed could take to police work and join law enforcement ranks, state news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Elena Haikova, head of Moscow's canine unit, said the force had already planned to train the first batch of corgi pups and compare them with other medium sized, knee height breeds in assisting police work.
"We have two pups, one of whom is two months old, the other is six months old," Haikova said. "It is not certain that they will be able to join the ranks of service dogs, but even if they don't the experiment will be interesting for everyone. We will try out the breed in search operations."
She explained that the relatively low height of the corgi means they may prove effective in sniffing out objects close to the ground, and move in tight spaces, searching for bombs or contraband goods.
"They still need to grow, be trained and undergo every test," Haikova said. "The dogs may buckle under the workload."
Whether we are going to see more corgis in uniform on Moscow's streets will be decided next year, according to Haikova, following the first two pups going through a series of tests.
In December, Russia sent France a service dog to replace Diesel, a Belgian Malinois killed during a series of raids on suspected extremists linked to November's deadly attacks in Paris.
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