Labs & The War on Terror

By Amy Fernandez

Another day, another bomb scare. That’s how it goes in the 21^st century.

The war on terror has upped the stakes in protecting the citizens of our country. Specialized counterterrorism police units in every major city are equipped with the latest techno-gear for surveillance screening and explosive detection. However, when you get down to it, billions of dollars spent on research has come up with nothing more reliable and effective than the good old bomb-sniffing canine nose.

A few weeks back, the NYPD introduced the newest additions to its K9 detection unit, eight Labrador Retrievers that came with a cool half-million dollar price tag and their own customized, mobile K9 van.  These aren’t plain old bomb sniffers. We’ve all seen demos of them nosing their way through a pile of suitcases to identify hidden explosives.

These Labs represent the next generation of bomb detection training, which unfortunately is a necessary response to the changing nature of terror threats.  Developed at Auburn University’s Canine Detection Research Institute over the past decade, the training methodology is known as Vapor Wake. In contrast to traditionally trained detection dogs, Vapor Wake dogs ignore stationary objects and work with their noses up, focusing solely on airborne particles drifting from a moving object–like a suicide vest or backpack. Reportedly, they can alert to a dozen different explosive compounds and follow a lingering scent trail for up to ten minutes, making it possible to track a suspect through street crowds, airports, train stations, stadiums–all the usual places that nuts love to bomb.

These days, detection dogs are a familiar sight at most large venues and major transportation hubs. Vapor Wake dogs offer some substantial advantages in those situations such as the ability to screen moving crowds rather than stopping to sniff everyone individually. It’s much faster and a lot less obtrusive, which has also become a concern since it looks like detection dogs will soon be a mandatory feature of practically every large gathering from movie theaters to sporting events. According to those at Auburn Universtiy, the Labrador Retriever was selected not only for its trainability and keen olfactory sense, but also that the breed’s sweet demeanor, floppy ears and overall benign appearance is less likely to alarm bystanders. No matter where you live, you will probably see them out there quietly, efficiently doing their job.

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=109077

Posted by chesliepickett on Jul 27 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.