did you know the united states government has federal agents that are dogs? yep! its true! beagles!! these four legged, furry federal agents been working for the department of agricultures animal and plant health inspection service since 1984. these super sniffers belong to a special group called...
THE BEAGLE BRIGADE
beagles got the job because theyre small, cute, friendly, smart and dont scare people (most people). and… theyre great sniffers.
teams of specially trained beagles and their handlers work at airports, post offices and shipping ports all over the united states. using their super sniffer power they inspect luggage, cargo, mail and vehicles for prohibited fruits, veggies, plants and meats. they dont do drugs. they leave that to the big dogs.
the BEAGLE BRIGADE is americas first line of defense against plant and animal diseases. unauthorized meat, animal byproducts, fruits and vegetables can cary deadly insects, diseases and pests that could infect u.s. agriculture.
the beagles get trained at special schools in orlando florida and newnan georgia. they dont have to learn how to smell cause that comes with having a super sniffer nose. they do have to learn how to know different smells for fruits and veggies and meat. before they start training thay have to pass the touch test. when someone touches or pets them ... no growling and for sure no biting.
once their trained beagles can recognize different smells and can tell the difference between a fruit, veggie or plant thats ok and one thats not. when a BB agent gets a scent of something thats not ok he sits down next to the container and his human partner takes over and talks to the owner and, if necessary, does a search. experienced beagles have a 90% success rate and can recognize nearly 50 distinct smells. wow! how cool is that!
the BEAGLE BRIGADE program averages around 75,000 seizures of prohibited agricultural products a year saving farmers MILLIONS of dollars from things that coud be deadly to their crops and affect their livelihood.
so...whatcha think about these four legged furry federal agents?
(be careful what you say cause the "speagles" [blogger spy beagles] are watching and taking notes)
hooray for THE BEAGLE BRIGADE!
so...whatcha think about these four legged furry federal agents?(be careful what you say cause the "speagles" [blogger spy beagles] are watching and taking notes)
...hugs from lenny
