Customs gets Labrador puppy from Russia

Finnish customs on Wednesday received a Labrador Retriever puppy from the Russian customs at Vaalimaa border as a donation

The puppy was donated to customs in May to mark the 25th anniversary of the customs cooperation between the neighbouring countries, said a press release issued by the Finnish customs.

The new customs dog cadet will be trained to search for narcotics and will be working at Helsinki Airport.

The puppy, named Jutta, arrived in Finland from Russia via the Vaalimaa border crossing point on Wednesday.

Prior to arriving in Finland, Jutta underwent a veterinary border inspection where her microchip, vaccinations, documents and general condition were checked.

The dog also had to be cleared through Customs for import, as the matter involved non-passenger import of an animal from a third country.

Once the new customs dog trainee completes her basic training, she will work in passenger and goods traffic at Helsinki Airport. Finnish customs has the overall responsibility for Jutta’s training, and her handler will be Customs Officer Jussi Planting.

“Already after a few hours together, Jutta has turned out to be an energetic and active junior customs dog. She is very curious about her surroundings, and has not been too nervous about travelling from Russia to Finland, being inspected by the border veterinarian, or meeting strange new people. We do have a slight language barrier, as the dog has been spoken to only in Russian,” said Jussi Planting.

Finnish customs has 47 customs dogs working in various regions of Finland.