USUALLY fearsome in battle and biting the bullet in any circumstances, Tokkelosh, elite member of the Northern Region Protection Services’ (NRPS) K9 Unit, lost face and the K9 Purple Heart for Bravery when he failed to show courage in the line of fireworks.
Tokkelosh went from hero to zero when photos were circulated on social media, showing him cradled on the lap of NRPS’ Corrie Pretorius following an explosion of Diwali crackers.
‘The Pitbull’, aka ‘The Maneater’, was still on top of his game on Sunday as part of a suspect-chasing super squad, hot on the heels of Meerensee housebreaking suspects.
The joint operation followed a request from SAPS’ Captain Debbie Ferreira for assistance relating to an attempted burglary in Mackerel Street at the house of a local journalist, trapped inside by demanding work deadlines.
The Meerensee CPF mobilised 11 search vehicles and the Arbovlei CPF, Alpha Alert and members of the public further beefed up the mobilisation exercise, with Arbovlei also volunteering three vehicles.
But true muscle arrived when Tokkelosh and K9 brothers-in-arms from Security 4 rushed to the scene, picked up scent and giving chase.
During the high speed pursuit, the suspects fled through three greenbelts and scaled the walls of four residential properties, with Tokkelosh and buddies breathing down their necks.
Cop… or rather dog chase
A witness said it was like watching a movie scene of a classic American cop chase – with spit, hair and drool flying everywhere.
‘You could smell the fear – literally,’ he said, while pointing to the backside of his pants with a smirk.
The dense greenbelts eventually aided the burglars’ escape, but the hounds were heralded for their heroism.
However, hours after celebrating another successful crime deterring operation, scandal struck.
In the photo, a clearly petrified Tokkelosh, ‘is looking more like a lapdog than a top dog’ said an insider, who confided in the Zululand Observer on condition of anonymity.
Adding insult to injury, this was followed by photos showing Tokkelosh ‘spooning’ with his best buddy, Mthakathi at their Meerensee headquarters.
The images went viral, followed by internet memes of Tokkelosh and Mthakathi as the new stars of Brokeback Mountain 2.
Mthakathi means ‘witch doctor’, but Tokkelosh denied that there was any magic between them.
Tokkelosh, through the NRPS media spokesperson said he did not appreciate being the butt of the joke and said his reaction was triggered by his extremely sensitive hearing.
He denied being in a ‘bromance’ with his best buddy and issued a thinly veiled threat to the culprits who spread the images about meeting in a dark alley one night.
The spokesperson said firecrackers can cause even the bravest heart to fail and appealed to members of the public to report transgression of the firecracker bylaws or face the wrath.
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