ABSTRACT : D/W/O van der Westhuizen was commonly known to others as Warrant Officer Wessie. He joined the South African Police on 1955-12-22 at the age of 18 years and completed his basic training at the “Depot”. His force number was 32463-9.
On 15 January 1962 he completed his Dog Master’s Course at the SAP Dog School in Pretoria. He was part of a group of 7 successful candidates. The dogs that he had were “Vellies” and “Helgardt”.
Part of his duties at dog handler and tracker included the attendance of all serious crime scenes in order to look for fingerprints and to make plaster casts of vehicle tracks and footprints.
KEYWORDS : Swellendam, dog unit, tracker dog, Ladysmith, Dundee, Newcastle, Estcourt,
AUTHOR : Col Logan Govender
