Canine forceBetter to teach old dogs new tricks
DHS recently announced that it wants to buy 3,000 dogs from breeders — at a cost of $4,535 per dog — to increase its force of canines who sniff out explosives, cash, and drugs; since only 20 percent of dogs who are selected for service programs successfully complete the training process, this plan will actually result in breeding 15,000 dogs, of which 12,000 will end up in shelters; one expert offers an alternative: DHS should follow the lead of the Hearing Ear Dog Program and many police departments and fill its ranks with dogs adopted from shelters
On the job: canines are still among the most effective, reliable detectors // Source: publicradio.org
DHS recently announced that it wants to buy 3,000 dogs from breeders to increase its force of canines who sniff out explosives, cash, and drugs. Since only 20 percent of dogs who are selected for service programs successfully complete the training process, this plan will actually result in breeding 15,000 dogs, of which 12,000 will end up in shelters.
Ingrid E. Newkirk, president and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, writes that with thousands of homeless dogs who would make excellent candidates for the program languishing in animal shelters across our country, DHS should follow the lead of the Hearing Ear Dog Program and many police departments and fill its ranks with dogs adopted from shelters and breed rescue groups.
Newkirk notes that the united States is facing a massive dog overpopulation crisis, with some 2 to 4 million dogs euthanized each year simply because there are not enough homes for them.
Statistics show that the success rate of service dogs adopted from animal shelters and rescue agencies is the same as that of dogs who are specifically bred for certification jobs. Moreover, shelters everywhere have the type of dogs that DHS is seeking: breeds such as Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and German shepherds and dogs who are outgoing, alert, active, and extremely people-friendly.
Newkirk writes that adopting homeless dogs would also save taxpayers thousands of dollars, since adoption fees are far lower than what breeders charge for puppies. The average price that DHS paid for the 322 untrained dogs it purchased between April 2006 and June 2007 was $4,535 per dog.
” If DHS can help improve homeland security, save taxpayer money and create an enormous amount of public goodwill by adopting homeless dogs, why not choose that option?” Newkirk asks.
