Dog Defenders
Across the country and around the world, pooches are on patrol to keep people safe A dog named Wyoming spends many mornings walking in fields with her nose to the ground. She may look like she's searching for a toy, but she's working to save lives. Wyoming works with CHAMPS (Children Against Mines Program), an organization that teaches kids about the dangers of land mines in countriessuch as Sri Lanka and Thailand. CHAMPS also trains minesniffing dogs like Wyoming.
Wyoming is just one of thousands of dogs on duty in the U.S. and around the globe. Dogs help U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also protect Americans every day by guarding U.S. borders and seaports, and patrolling airports. When disasters strike, specially trained search and rescue (SAR) dogs go to the scene to find survivors.
The Nose Knows
What makes dogs so good at these jobs? It's their strong sense of smell. Scientists think that a dog's sense of smell is at least a thousand times stronger than a human's!
Breeds like Belgian Malinois (MAL-in-wah), German shepherds, beagles, and golden retrievers are commonly used as working dogs. These super sniffers use their noses to track down anything from a piece of fruit to a missing person.
READY TO WORK: SAR dogs love to work. To them, work is play!
Helping Heroes
Around the world, about 2,300 dogs serve in the U.S. military, guarding bases and sniffing out explosives such as land mines. Today, about 700 mines sniffing dogs work in 23 countries.
The dogs travel with specially trained people, called handlers. When a dog gets a whiff of a mine, it alerts its handler by sitting near the mine. Handlers can then remove it. Each time a dog locates a mine, it gets a reward - usually a toy or playtime with its handler.
Thanks to CHAMPS, kids like you are helping to rid the world of land mines. In 2003, Diana Enzi, wife of Wyoming U.S. Senator Michael Enzi, introduced students in her state to CHAMPS. Wyoming students collected quarters and raised about $14,000 to sponsor the CHAMPS dog named Wyoming. More than a million land mines are in Sri Lanka, where Wyoming works.
Kids in New Hampshire have also joined the effort. For the past year, students at Daniel J. Bakie Elementary in Kingston, New Hampshire, have been raising money to sponsor a CHAMPS dog. "CHAMPS is a great way for kids and adults to help," says Bianca Streep, 10, a student at Bakie.
Canine Courage
Dogs are also making a big difference at home in the U. S. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Canine Enforcement Program trains dogs to work at U.S. borders. These dogs sniff boats, trucks, cars, and ships for illegal drugs, explosives, and stowaways. Dogs also sniff people's bags and cars for fruit, meat, and vegetables that may carry diseases. The powerful pooches can examine a car in about five minutes. A person would need about 25 minutes to do the same search.
Dogs are also helping to keep the skies safe. Since 2002, the U.S. government has put dogs on duty at major American airports, where they sniff everything from planes to garbage cans in search of explosives.
With working dogs in demand more than ever, our four-legged friends will continue to protect and help people everywhere. "Dogs make a big difference," says Bianca. "It's incredible to see what they can do."