Man's Best Friends Take Place in Walk of Fame

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&ncid=583&e=14&u=/nm/20040930/od_nm/security_dogs_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - This Trouble is nothing to sniff at.



Trouble, a 6-1/2 year-old Beagle who helped sniff out 1.3 million pounds (590 tonnes) of illegal drugs and $27.9 million of drug money last year, was one of eight work dogs honored at the Canine World Heroes Walk of Fame on Wednesday.


Homeland Security official Robert Bonner spoke of canine heroism, from the black Labrador who took part in the search and rescue after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to the German Shepherd who was found in Iraq (news - web sites) and then trained to protect U.S. troops there.


Bonner, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, underlined the contributions of the 1,200 dogs under his authority who are trained to detect explosives, illegal drugs and chemicals used in weapons of mass destruction.


The CBP has a budget of $7.3 million to train 200 dogs a year.


"One of our primary responsibilities is being able to detect things that might be harmful to the United States," he said. "One of the best detection tools is our canine teams."


Another honoree was Gentle Ben, a hulking and shaggy 165-pound (75 kg) Newfoundland who works at a Washington State juvenile detention center with many children who have been abused.


Like movie stars at Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater, each dog at the end of the ceremony at the courtyard park in midtown Manhattan set his paw prints in cement.