Don’t fear the stinkbug…
So here at the Zoo, we have written a bit about police dogs and the how cool they are. But there is another bunch of little known canine heroes protecting our homeland from alien invaders.
Meet Thunder. Thunder is a detector dog used by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to detect invasive species such as the hated brown marmorated stink bug.
This bunch of dedicated canines and handlers is known as the “Beagle Brigade” and is a little known part of our Homeland Security enterprise. The Beagle Brigade operates in the interior U.S. in differing assignments such as finding nutrias on the Delmarva Penisula, and Brown Tree snakes in Guam.
Although stink bugs seem to be just annoying, they did create havoc with some states crops for a couple of years. Due to the lack of natural predators, such invasive pests represent a real threat to America’s agricultural industry; which in turn affects our economic and food security. Thunder and his buddies help to defend us against such threats.
Thunder was trained at the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Georgia. This school accepts dogs from shelters and other donation sources and turns them into Homeland warriors. Preferred breeds are beagles, Labradors and sometimes Jack Russell terriers. Those dogs that do not complete the training, or retire from the program (service life is six to eight years) are adopted into loving homes. If you are interested in adopting one of these animals you can check this program out here.
The Beagle Brigade used to also operate at International Airports and inspect traveler’s bags for contrabrand food, plants and pests. This responsibility was taken over by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Agricultural Canine program; however these canines and their handlers are still trained by the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center.
Similar programs exist in other countries too. Zookeeper AB upon arriving with his family in Sydney, was asked if his kids liked dogs. When he answered yes, their bags were promptly layed out and sniffed by a Detector Dog from the Australian Agricultural Department. Turns out the Aussies got the idea from the Beagle Brigade and now have canine teams of their own around the country. Of course, the Aussies have a way cooler name; their bonzer canines are called “Bio-security Dogs”.
So next time you bite into a juicy tomato that is stink bug free; thank a member of the Beagle Brigade!
