Record-Setting Canine To Stand Down Friday
From the Aero-News Network(www.aero-news.net)
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport will witness the retirement of one of its hardest working employees this week. Pino, a 13 year-old Belgian Malinois, will end her tour of duty with the Airport Police Department this Friday, following a run of 10 years and 11 months… a record at Lambert.
Pino is currently the oldest working dog out of more than 500 certified in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program. The TSA partners with law enforcement agencies to provide the canines, training and a yearly stipend to help protect the nation’s transportation system.
Pino arrived at Lambert in September of 1997 after graduating from the Military Working Dog Training Course at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. She is part of a 10-team K-9 unit at Lambert focusing on explosives detection and other security details.
During her career, Pino has stretched her expertise beyond Lambert providing security support to local, state and federal agencies. Pino has worked numerous high profile events — including protection details of two US Presidents, school threats that followed the Columbine Tragedy, the 1999 St. Louis visit of Pope John Paul II, the heightened security levels following 9/11, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Pino will retire to the home of her police partner, Sgt. Steve Swafford, following her final shift at Lambert. All we can say is… we wish more TSA staffers had her work ethic.
The Sniff Patrol: Border Patrol dogs find drugs, humans
Austen led the search at sunset.
He walked through the southern Arizona desert looking left and right with his nose close to the ground.
Austen, a groenendael, or Belgian shepherd, sped through brush, tall weeds and rocky trails, leading Border Patrol agents to bags and sacks used to smuggle drugs. But the drugs, and those who transported them, were long gone.
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
K-9 handler and instructor Christopher Jbara works with his dog Brita, who alerts on a truck at the checkpoint near Tubac.
The drug spot is close to a dirt road not far from a house south of Green Valley.
Agents said the area is known as a meeting point for people carrying drugs across the border and drivers who take them north.
What Austen smelled was drug residue left on the bags used to carry drugs, most likely 25 to 50 pounds of marijuana.
The canine unit is one of the Border Patrol’s tools for finding people and drugs smuggled across the border.
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
Handler Ray Rivera watches as his dog Zarrah hits on some drugs during a training exercise in a warehouse on the West Side of Tucson.
The Tucson sector has more than 70 dogs as part of its K-9 unit.
“We are seeing an increase in dogs in our sector, helping us get to situations faster and screen vehicles much quicker,” Border Patrol spokesman Michael Scioli said.
So far this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, agents in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector, which has about 3,100 agents, have arrested 281,201 people trying to cross the border illegally. That’s a 26 percent decrease from this time last year, when there were 378,239 arrests, Scioli said.
Last year agents seized 897,535 pounds of marijuana and more than 177 pounds of cocaine. This year they have seized 720,121 pounds of marijuana and more than 70 pounds of cocaine, Scioli said. Not all of those seizures are the result of dogs.
At least one dog is always working at the Interstate 19 checkpoint, which is a high-traffic stop.
Michael Lawler, Tucson sector K-9 coordinator, said checkpoints are the most difficult environment for dogs to work in because of the distractions.
“There’s wind, distracting odors, agents working around them, other dogs and, of course, the 1,500 vehicles that drive by every hour,” he said.
One of the sector’s top dogs – which agents did not want to name for security purposes – has found 42,889 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $34 million, 249 pounds of cocaine valued at $8 million, 10 pounds of methamphetamine worth $300,000, 1,500 suspected illegal immigrants and $70,000 in cash since 2001.
Lawler didn’t want to provide more details on how the dogs are used because he said smugglers use that information to adjust their smuggling tactics.
In the past couple of months, agents have come across false alarm signals from their dogs at the checkpoints.
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
K-9 handler and instructor Christopher Jbara and his dog Brita.
Christopher Jbara, an agent and K-9 instructor, said he was recently working the checkpoint with Brita, his 3-year-old dog, when she alerted him to a car.
“We searched the car thoroughly and found nothing.”
He said the car had most likely been contaminated on one side of the border or the other and it was likely the driver was not aware.
“They do this so my dog hits the smell, forcing us to pull the car over for a second inspection, while the car with the load tries to sneak by a few cars behind,” Jbara said.
The contamination could have come from a small amount of marijuana left on the car, cocaine residue or water from a bong used to smoke marijuana.
“Any little residue and my dog will alert me to it,” Jbara said.
He said the car’s windshield had been washed by a window washer on the street before crossing the border, and the water used to clean it could have been contaminated with bong water.
“We have no confirmation of how these cars are being contaminated, but we are checking each car, and when our dogs alert us, we check the cars behind it, too.”
Every dog in the canine unit is trained to find both drugs and people.
“I couldn’t even try to explain how these dogs find that one concealed person in a van full of people, but they do,” said Lawler.
“That’s the part of the job an agent couldn’t do alone. That’s why we have these dogs working with us every day,” Lawler said.
The Border Patrol is neither breed- nor sex-specific when it comes to buying or breeding their dogs.
“It’s all up to the dog’s drive,” said Robert Lukason, staff instructor of the U.S. Border Patrol National Canine Facility.
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
Border Patrol K-9 handler Richard Deanda works his dog Austen as they search spots south of Green Valley.
Each dog working for the Border Patrol has gone through an extensive training program that starts as early as eight weeks after birth.
After the “puppy test,” dogs are tested at four, seven, 11 and 14 months, then begin the 10-week training program, said Lukason, who is in charge of training at least 150 dogs per year at the national training center in El Paso.
The dogs are trained to work along the U.S. borders with Canada and with Mexico. This year, 650 dogs are working nationwide with the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The working life of the dogs varies depending on their location.
Some dogs work in the field, even in mountain areas. Others work at checkpoints. For the most part, they work from seven to nine years, Lukason said.
“The fitness level of these dogs doesn’t compare to a house dog,” he said. “These dogs are trained to work hard, long hours almost every day.”
Lawler’s dog, Baldo, is a 92-pound, 6-year-old Belgian malinois and German shepherd mix. He has helped agents find 20,000 pounds of marijuana, 8 ounces of cocaine and 560 people since the end of 2004.
“We spend most of the day with our dog. They live with us, and they work with us,” Jbara said. “I end up spending more time with my dog than with my family sometimes.”
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
Handler Ruben Dominguez gives his toy as a reward after finding some drugs during a training exercise at a seized vehicle lot in Tucson.
This article is from the Tucson Citizen-www.tucsoncitizen.com
Some joint missions are for the dogs
by Staff Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
7/22/2008 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) – The dog days of summer are here, but the dogs — and their handlers — are taking it in stride. Together, military working dog handlers of every branch of service stand alongside their K-9 companions to make sure no insurgent can disrupt the mission.
Staff Sgt. Sean Neisen searches vehicles with his dog, Goro E114, July 8 at the Vehicle Control Center at Ali Base, Iraq. Dog handlers are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all coalition forces assigned here by searching vehicles that drive onto Contingency Operations Base Adder and Ali Base daily. Sergeant Neisen is a military working dog handler deployed to the 407th Provost Marshal Office from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sabrina Johnson)
“I’m not about to (let) a vehicle get on this base and (have) something happen,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Neisen, a military working dog handler with the 407th Provost Marshal Office, who is deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Sergeant Neisen and his 8-year-old military working dog, Goro E114, work in cooperation with two Navy dog handlers to search vehicles that drive onto Contingency Operations Base Adder and Ali Base every day.
Their specialty is detecting explosives.
“If you can build a bomb with it, our dogs can find it,” said Tech. Sgt. Terry Gilbert, a dog handler here who’s finishing his deployment and will soon return to Kadena Air Base, Japan.
Under sweltering heat that can reach almost of 130 degrees, the Airmen, Sailors and their K-9s can be found searching the vehicles. Working side-by-side is natural for Air Force and Navy dog handlers, who train in the same K-9 school, Sergeant Gilbert said.
Staff Sgt. Sean Neisen searches vehicles with his dog, Goro E114, July 8 at the Vehicle Control Center at Ali Base, Iraq. Dog handlers are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all coalition forces assigned here by searching vehicles that drive onto Contingency Operations Base Adder and Ali Base daily. Sergeant Neisen is a military working dog handler deployed to the 407th Provost Marshal Office from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sabrina Johnson)
“We learn the same stuff, so all our jobs are pretty much the same, especially in Iraq,” he said.
The military working dog community is by nature combined, Sergeant Gilbert said. The kennels at his home station are a joint operation, with the Air Force and the Marine Corps each operating half of the kennels. Whether at home or in a deployed environment, the Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers and Marines put their joint training and culture to use every day.
“It’s a wonderful experience, teaming up and working with the other branches,” said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ivan Winder, the kennel master. “It’s an equal match.”
Each of the services varies slightly in terms of its expertise, said Petty Officer Winder, who is deployed from Commander Navy Region Southwest in San Diego.
“The Army is great at pounding the ground, while the Air Force is great with force protection such as flightlines,” he said. “The Navy’s specialty is buildings, open areas and vehicles. Each (service) learns something from the others, and all entities working together creates a stronger, more cohesive unit.”
The Air Force and Navy dog handling team here isn’t the only joint team in Iraq. Air Force and Navy dog handlers across Iraq work along side Army units searching for weapons and high-value targets.
“The Army doesn’t have enough people or dogs to take care of their mission, so they need us,” Sergeant Gilbert said. “The K-9 community is already short-manned, but the Army is extremely short” because of mission requirements.
The manning may lead to long days and nights, demonstrating that some joint missions are just for the dogs.
Staff Sgt. Sean Neisen runs an obstacle course on base with his dog, Goro E114, July 7 at Ali Base, Iraq. Dog handlers keep their partners in shape to ensure they are ready for vehicle searches that drive onto Contingency Operations Base Adder and Ali Base daily. Sergeant Neisen is a military working dog handler assigned to the 407th Provost Marshals Office from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sabrina Johnson)
This article was found here:http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123107130
Sniffer Dogs Working In landmine Clearance
The landmine clearance operation by Thai soldiers along the Thai- Cambodian border continues, after a soldier earlier stepped on a landmine while on duty to provide security near the disputed Preah Vihear temple. Besides using metal detectors to do the job, bomb sniffing dogs are also playing an important role in the task.
These sniffer dogs are of the German Shepherd, Labrador and Malinois breeds and one dog is worth 1.4 million baht. They work together with the Humanitarian Mine Action Unit in landmine clearance operations at the Khao Pra Viharn National Park in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket. The dogs were trained in the US for three years before undergoing a two-months of training with Thai soldiers at the sniffer dog training center in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Lt. Col. Sathit Chatuwong, landmine locating and destroying unit said “Sniffer dogs can help smell TNT, dynamite, and C4 bombs. When demining officials use metal detectors, sometimes they fing pieces of metal, not an explosive device. But the dogs work efficiently; they can detect explosive powder and we are sure to find a bomb. ”
Soldiers have to check the wind direction when the sniffer dogs work in the field, which is divided into one square meter blocks. Two teams of sniffer dogs take turns to search for a bomb, twice. The dogs will sit down when they smell an explosive device. Even though these canines are good at what they do, they too have their own limits.
1st. Lt. Damrong Paengkanya, sniffer dog trainer said “These dogs won’t work in hot weather at 40 degrees Celcius or above nor in strong wind velocity of above 12 kilometres per hour. Rain, smoke and noise also affect them. If they are not in the mood, they are not ready to work.”
Sniffer dogs work in unity with their trainers and do well in helping locate landmines, right up until they reach their retired age of eight years old.
this article was found here Sniffer Dogs
Marine Mascot “Chesty” Retires
After 7 Years Active Duty, English Bulldog Steps Down For Younger Dog
(Dept of Defense)
(CBS) Nobody does pomp and circumstance like the Marines, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.
Its silent drill team is precision personified. Imagine how much practice it takes to pull a ceremony off.
But here comes the real star of the show the Marines put on every Friday during the summer – Chesty, the Marine Corps’ mascot. He’s named not for his physique, but for the most decorated of all Marines, Chesty Puller.
Behind that 15 seconds of fame stands his handler, Corp. Moncelly Fuller.
“He actually has more medals than me,” Fuller said.
And Gunnery Sgt. William Dixon keeps Chesty’s service record. That’s right – his service record.
“He’s got three paw prints here. That means he got written up three times?” Martin asked.
“He got counseled three times,” Dixon said.
He fell asleep on duty.
“He fell asleep — not on duty, but at rehearsal,” Dixon said.
“Exactly how do you counsel a dog?” Martin asked.
“Well, you bring him in, you sit him down face to face, Marine to Marine, commanding officer to Marine, and you tell him like it is,” Dixon said.
How did he take to counseling?
“Not too good,” Dixon said.
Would he call Chesty recalcitrant?
“I would,” Dixon said.
Truth be told, Chesty is not honed to the same razor’s edge as the silent drill team. Even his owners, fellow Marines Michael and Kristen Mergen, will admit that.
“Basically his one and only job is to walk down center walk on parade and sit,” Mergen said.
You’ll notice that on one night, a parade in honor of Defense Secretary Gates, Chesty doesn’t sit.
“My theory is that his uniform is getting a little tight on him so … ” Kristen Mergen said.
Is he putting on the pounds?
“It may be that. I think it’s his hips, too. Hence the need for a new mascot,” she said.
After seven years – make that 49 in dog years – during which he rose through the ranks to sergeant, Chesty is being replaced. Being the Marine mascot is a young dog’s game.
But if it strikes you as just a game, then you don’t understand the Marines.
“Do you ever say to yourself, ‘hey, wait a minute, this is just a dog’?” Martin asked.
“I do not, because I understand and I respect the role of mascot,” Dixon said. “It’s how we showcase and highlight what we do.”
And yes, there will be a retirement ceremony after Chesty walks through the gates of the Marine Barracks for the last time tomorrow.
You can see the article in it’s entirety here. “Marine Mascot Chesty Retires”
WASHINGTON-Sgt. Chesty XII, the official mascot of Marine Barracks Washington, stands at attention as his retirement certificate is read during his retirement ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, July 25. Chesty served for 40 dog years as mascot., Lance Cpl. Jacob H. Harrer, 7/25/2008 3:56 AMRetirement will mark the first time Chesty XII has taken leave in six years. The break will give him a chance to do some of his favorite things, which include taking naps and playing with small toys and basketballs, according to Gunnery Sgt. Michael Mergen.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKTUoapRul8]
The New Jersey Veterinary Veterinary Foundation has their own “Animal Hall of Fame” that annual inducts new members into five different categories. Listed below are the categories and their inductees for 2008, one of which is a military working dog. Congratulations to all the winners!
Companion: Melvin Heckman and his dog “Tinker Toy”, nominated by Dr. Suzanne Smith of Spring Mills Veterinary Hospital in Milford.
Therapy: Shiloh Shepherd Takoda, nominated by Dr. Larry Hirshenson of Morris Hills Veterinary Clinic in Boonton.
Professional: Military working dog Renato F574, nominated by CPT Michele Pfannenstiel of Fort Monmouth.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1buHU7H44b8]
Hero: Pit Bull Cassius Clay, nominated by veterinarian Larry Wolf.
NJVMA Animal Welfare Award: Carol Hoffman, nominated by Dr. Dolores Holle chief veterinarian at The Seeing Eye Inc.
You can read about this years winners as well as the previous winners by visiting the New Jersey Veterinary Foundation website here: http://www.njvf.org
What a great program. I feel more programs like these should be established. These are great skills and values the young men and women are learning, all while doing society a favor.
Juveniles train dogs through new program
By Jason Schaefer
At the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Center, kids aged 10 to 17 are sentenced to boot camp for crimes they have committed.
But through Kids-N-K9s, a new collaborative program between the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter and the Williamson County Juvenile Services Academy, a few cadets had the privilege of working with and training dogs to promote their adoption.
The four teenagers, named Rene, Dakota, Chase and Jose, celebrated their graduation from the three-week program Thursday evening, where three of the four dogs were adopted on-the-spot.
The cadets worked with a dog each for two hours a day to feed, water and train them. They taught the dogs self-control — not to jump up and to approach its owner politely — basic commands like sit and lay and an additional creative trick.
According to Donna Wasielewski, Kids and K9s program director, the idea was to help sheltered dogs while teaching the cadets about understanding behavior motivation, empathy, compassion, patience and leadership.
“We’re trying to teach them things about themselves through working with the dogs,” she said. “(The cadets) were really impulsive in real life, and it’s gotten them into a lot of trouble.”
Rene trained Chevy, a yellow lab that joined the ranks of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, where he will learn to assist someone with limited mobility.
Jose, a non-native English speaker, worked through the additional difficulty of a language barrier to train Dakota, a Siberian Husky. Before the program, he was afraid of dogs, but he quickly overcame his fear.
Jose announced he originally wanted to be a body guard, but now he’s considering working with dogs.
Thomas, who trained Chase, was so overwhelmed at the ceremony, he wept.
“The best thing is I’ve saved a baby’s life,” he said. “People don’t like black dogs, and they don’t like old dogs. Well Chase is old and black. If it weren’t for me, he’d be dead.”
Chase was adopted by the Chisum family, who was present at the graduation to take him home.
Dakota, the cadet, said before he began training Madison, a mixed-breed female, he was never really happy. But once the program began, even on the days when the cadets weren’t scheduled to work with the dogs, he still had something to look forward to.
Madison went home with a family that was present at the event.
A KNOWING LOOK: Jose, a cadet in the Kids-N-K9s program, meets eye-to-eye with Dakota, the siberian husky he trained. Jose had to address the program with an additional difficulty — English as a second language. Jose said he was afraid of dogs when he volunteered for the program, but quickly overcame his fear when he began working with Dakota.
photo by JASON SCHAEFER | Order reprints at www.TaylorDailyPress.net
This article was found here: www.taylorpress.net
Interesting article here about detection dogs and what happens to them when they retire. Apparently they have rules on what to do with horses and elephants when they retire but not dogs.
MUMBAI: Lyka sits patiently as her handlers fuss over her, drawing the attention of passersby at the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad’s building near the police commissionerate. Like most of the sniffer dogs here, she has spent her entire life working with the department, detecting explosives. But when Lyka retires in a couple of years, she will be at the mercy of the police department. Read the full article here: Retired Sniffer Dog’s in India.
Durant Police K-9 “Trooper” Retires from Service
(This article can be found by clicking here: K9 Trooper Retires)
From news release:
Durant Police Department
120 South Fifth Avenue
Durant, Oklahoma 74701-5015
Phone: 580/924-3737 * Fax: 580/924-8928
Durward A. Cook, Chief of Police
MEDIA RELEASE
Durant Police K-9 “Trooper” retires from service. Trooper has completed several successful years of service. He is 9 years old and received his first K-9 team certification in 2001. Trooper and his handler Police Officer Jesse Petty attended federal training at the Regional Counter Drug Training Facility in Meridian, Mississippi. In his last complete year of service (2007), Trooper assisted in the seizure of a combined narcotics street value and property seizure value of approximately $20,000.00. He also successfully assisted other Law Enforcement agencies in both Oklahoma and Texas assisting in the apprehension of criminals and narcotics.
Trooper’s age and health were the deciding factors in his retirement. Trooper has fought arthritic problems with his front and back leg joints for several months. He can no longer perform his duties as a Police dog; however can live the rest of his days comfortably as a retired dog. His sense of smell is still good and his drive is wonderful, however his body can no longer keep up with his drive.
Last year Durant Police K-9 Teams were deployed in the field 166 times for patrol and narcotics. “Trooper gave a 100% effort while working with the Durant Police Department”, says Chief Durward Cook; adding, “He was a tremendous asset and will be missed.”
Officer Petty is currently attending training with his new K-9 partner, Baron. Baron is a one-year-old German shepherd imported from Czechoslovakia. The team is expected to begin patrol duties August 11, 2008.
The Durant Police Department has had K-9 teams since 1993. Officer Petty’s new partner will be the seventh dog the Department has employed.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT TROOPER! Thank you for your service.
Great article from the Arizona newspaper East Valley Tribune
District says drug dogs’ school visits effective
Drug-sniffing dogs have found illegal substances three times in the three years police canines have been invited to Scottsdale high school campuses for searches.
But despite drugs turning up only a few times, school and police officials say the program is a good deterrent for students.
The Scottsdale Unified School District governing board approved bringing police narcotics dogs to campuses for random locker searches in May 2005. Since then, the school district has scheduled 10 searches a year, two on each of the four high schools located in Scottsdale city limits and two at Sierra Vista Academy, the district’s alternative school.
The program came in response to a high-profile report on a drug ring involving 146 Valley students, teens and young adults released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office earlier that year. Most of the people involved lived in Scottsdale.
The random searches generally involve an officer and a dog going to a school at 3 p.m., once school has let out for the day, said Scottsdale police Sgt. Chris Coffee, who is in charge of the department’s K-9 unit. They meet school officials and then search a row of lockers designated by administrators.
While two searches per campus are penciled in a year, the actual number of checks depends on the department’s scheduling, Coffee said.
Schools aren’t charged for the service. The police department doesn’t have a cost breakdown for the program because it doesn’t charge for any services and schools are treated like any community member, said Sgt. Mark Clark, police spokesman.
During the 2007-08 school year, drug-sniffing dogs went into Scottsdale schools 11 times, according to police. While there were no arrests, drugs were found twice: marijuana in a sink drain at Sierra Vista Academy and something similar at Desert Mountain High School.
A Tribune review of records from the first two years of the program found there were eight random searches of Scottsdale schools over the 2006-07 school year.
In 2005-06, the first year of the program, there were nine random searches, none of which turned up drugs.
Outside of the random searches, narcotics dogs were called to Desert Mountain twice to inspect cars that administrators believed held marijuana in 2005-06. Both searches resulted in arrests.
A dog was also called to Sierra Vista Academy in 2006 to inspect a room where administrators believed a student had snorted cocaine. While the dog found a piece of foil that was believed to have been used for drugs, cocaine wasn’t discovered. There was no arrest.
A NOSE FOR NARCOTICS: Scottsdale police officer Travis Kerby and his partner, Lex, take part in a recent narcotics dog training exercise.Milissa Sackos, the school district’s executive director of student and community services, said she believed the program was working well.
While Sackos said she couldn’t speak to a particular program on its own, she said everything combined, including school resource officer presence at schools, character-building curriculum and chemical awareness programs, affect student choices.
“We would like to believe it is our overarching preventative measures that are making an impact,” Sackos said. “A single program in isolation I don’t think can take credit for any type of decline for drug and alcohol possession.”
And while school is out when the searches are conducted, there are still enough students on campus to create a buzz.
“It’s a great deterrent when you bring a dog onto campus,” Coffee said. “The students are excited, they want to know why the dog is there. And the student grapevine gets working.”
Governing board president Karen Beckvar said the board didn’t have any plans to review the program in the short term.
She said she’s fine with keeping the searches as long as they remain free to the district.
“It doesn’t seem to be causing any disruption on the campuses,” Beckvar said. “I haven’t heard any complaints and that’s always a good sign.”
When told the searches found drugs three times, Beckvar said the program still had a purpose.
“The value of it was not in search itself, but in the deterrent effect.” Beckvar said.
“People don’t want to get caught.”
This article was found at www.eastvalleytribune.com
