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Lab traits may earn pups bomb-sniffing jobs
Sue Ross, co-owner with husband Tom of Oregon Retrievers in Phoenix, works on training Summer. Dogs like her are in high demand as potential bomb sniffers in the fight against terrorism. By MARK FREEMAN PHOENIX - Holly and Summer are 5-month-old black Labrador retriever puppies with a passion for play, paws like pogo sticks and a penchant for a little game of fetch. Now those lovable Lab traits just might earn them patrol time along the front lines of America's fight against terrorism. Holly and Summer are prime candidates for future employment as bomb-sniffing dogs at airports or for police agencies that are turning to a Phoenix hunting-dog breeder for help in fighting terror. Dogs with a nose for detection are in high demand in the post-Sept. 11 world, with breeders such as Oregon Retrievers fielding calls from specialty trainers seeking more and more Labs that fit the mold for ferreting out explosives. The Medford Police Department is considering whether it will buy a dog trained specifically for bombs to join its kennel of tracking and drug-detection dogs, Lt. Mike Moran said. Other agencies across the country are following suit, and the trail leads to kennels, including Oregon Retrievers along North Phoenix Road. "We're getting calls now from detection trainers who we've never heard of," says Tom Ross, who owns Oregon Retrievers with his wife, Sue. "Before, they were picky, looking only for older and real tenacious dogs. Now, they're asking us to send videotapes on everything we got." The puppies sell for $800 to $2,500, depending upon their age and pedigrees, Sue Ross says. Oregon Retrievers is known mainly for breeding, raising and training dogs for hunting, plus supplying young dogs that get trained for police work in search-and-rescue teams or for sniffing out drugs. Three Oregon Retrievers puppies were bought last week by Mike Herstik, a Southern California trainer contracted to provide bomb-detection dogs for the Los Angeles Police Department. Herstik says he looks for dogs with good hunting backgrounds in their blood lines, because the tenacity, intelligence and mental stability needed for excellent retrieving for hunters works well in the anti-terrorism business. Herstik expects to spend 45 to 90 days training these dogs to detect the subtle odors given off by the kinds of low-explosives and high-explosives used to make most bombs. "They've yet to prove themselves," Herstik says, "but we're hopeful." If they do, the dogs will report to the Los Angeles Police Department early next year. Holly and Summer are currently up for potential purchase by another training company that provides a similar service to Herstik's. Future cadets will go to other agencies as well as security firms and businesses that were not so security-conscious before Sept. 11. "All kinds of companies that weren't necessarily incorporating these types of security programs are looking at them now - from police departments to museums," Herstik says. And the Rosses believe this little boom in their business is, tragically, here to stay. "Because the world has totally changed, I think this is going to be the norm now," Sue Ross says. "Because there's suspicion anywhere you go, there will be a lot bigger need for these kinds of dogs." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com |
