Department of Homeland Security Needs to Give Homeless Dogs a Chance

Homeland Security wants to add 3,000 more dogs to its four-legged force to sniff out bombs, drugs, and smuggled cash. According to an article that appeared in the LA Times, the department is looking for Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, Dutch shepherds, Belgian Malinois, "or other working, herding or sporting breeds with prior approval." In other words, they intend to use our tax money to buy dogs at top dollar from breeders.

They need to consider the candidates languishing in shelters who would love to serve their country simply for food and a home. K-9 Officer Moto of the Washington State Patrol is one such dog. Moto is a pit bull who won the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association's 2007 Animal Hall of Fame Award. Moto and another litter mate had a rough start in life: They were victims of neglect.

The pit-bull pups were held at Clackamas County Animal Shelter and then went onto LawDogs before being donated to the Washington State Patrol. Moto and his partner, Trooper Jason Knott, were certified as a Narcotic Detection K-9 team. In 2005, the team made 11 searches with 20 narcotic finds. In 2006, they made 59 searches with 100 finds. While assisting the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they found 180 pounds of marijuana. Not a bad track record for a shelter dog.

PETA contacted the Department of Homeland Security and asked them to consider dogs from rescue groups and shelters, not just from breeders. Rafael Borras, an Undersecretary for Management, responded in a letter that "DHS has found that there are a number of specialized characteristics that are essential to a canine's success in our rigorous training program. I encourage animal rescue facilities to submit proposals to be considered for an award if they can provide the type of dogs required and meet the contract requirements."

That's a high hurdle: Every dog is an individual, and it's hard for shelters to predict how many good sniffers they have at any time, but Homeland Security should be open to working with them.

At last count, the Washington State Patrol had nine pit bull-type dogs that were trained for narcotics or bomb detection. The Illinois Chiefs of Police Association was so intrigued by the cost savings that they even had a Washington highway patrolman bring his K9 pit bull partner for a demonstration at one of their conferences.

The chiefs were impressed. In fact, the Cook County Sheriff's Department started looking for good pit bull-type dogs in rescue organizations. Dick Butkus, an ex-shelter pit bull, fit the bill, and he now works sniffing out drugs at the Cook County jail. The pit bull K9 cop became famous when he caught a guard smuggling drugs into the jail.

Diversity is good in all areas of life. The Department of Homeland Security needs to rethink its requirements for dogs and focus on behavior and sniffing ability, not breed or lineage. The U.S. of A. could use some good shelter dogs like K9 Officer Moto and K9 Officer Dick Butkus.

Tell Homeland Security to give homeless dogs a chance.

Photo: Canine Officer Neville from the Washington State Patrol by LawDogs