Famed patrol dog heads for well-earned retirement after a lifetime of service

In the past seven years, Huzi and his human handlers have identified and helped manage many safety hazards, including assisting police officers in detaining people whose presence is regarded as suspicious, escorting lost seniors home and locating fallen protective barriers, fires and leaks from oil wells alongside the railway.

Huzi and a coworker, Zhao Haitao, once had to help a woman who had climbed up the protective barrier. Zhao ordered Huzi to bark and run along one side of the barrier to attract the woman's attention, while he and some colleagues quickly climbed up from the other side and rescued her. The woman was later diagnosed with mental health issues, and Huzi received a reward for his part in saving her.

"Huzi is not a pet, he is my comrade," Wang Hongbin, a patrol team member, told Xinhua News Agency in a recent interview.

As Huzi is old in dog years, he will retire from the patrol team this year, and will be adopted for a peaceful retirement.

The members of the patrol are sad to be saying goodbye to Huzi, so they often visit him at work and in his kennel to bring him snacks, such as pieces of beef and ham, and they have made his home more cozy and comfortable.

"Patrolling the high-speed railway is a lonely job. However, Huzi is always there for me," Wang said.