Careers with Animals
- 1. Careers in Dog Behavior
- 2. Resources in Animal Related Careers
- 3. What is a Veterinary Behaviorist?
- 4. What is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist?
- 5. On Board with the Beagle Brigade
- 6. Humane Law Enforcement
- 7. Careers with Animals - Job Descriptions
- 8. So You Want to Work with Animals? A Guide for Youth Who Love Animals
- 9. Urban Life to Agricultural Farmers
On Board with the Beagle Brigade
Barbara Carroll
Every day on her way to work at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Douglas Inter-national Airport, Suki Crane, a plant protection and quarantine officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, picks up her colleague, Jay, who lives nearby. They take a long walk together, then get into her van and head to work.
When they arrive at the airport, the gregarious Jay socializes with his colleagues. But as soon as international flights begin landing and he dons his uniform - a dapper green jacket emblazoned on one side with "Protecting American Agriculture" and on the other with "Agriculture's Beagle Brigade" - Jay gets down to business. He is one of approximately 131 detector beagles that sniff out the roughly 75,000 prohibited agricultural products carried into the United States annually by passengers on international flights.
Beagles were tapped for this job because of their acute sense of smell and their exceptional people skills. With an estimated 220 million scent receptors, beagles are better than most high-tech devices at detecting a variety of plant and animal materials, and can be trained to distinguish them from one another.
Jay, who turned three last July, is Crane's second canine partner. Her first, Abbott, like 75 percent of all Beagle Brigade recruits, originally came from a shelter. When he retired at age nine, Abbott went to live with his handler, as do many of the brigade's pensioners, taking up residence in Crane's home. "We make sure that every dog who leaves the program is adopted out," she says.
After receiving a temperament test to ensure they're up to the job, the beagles typically go though several months of training in Orlando, Florida. Initially, they learn to recognize and differentiate among five distinct scents. "In the field, the handler firms these up and adds more," says Crane. Jay, "a very good working dog," can recognize 50 distinct scents. Over the course of their shift, Crane and Jay walk around the federal inspection area, mingling with the 500 to 600 passengers who arrive daily on international flights. When Jay detects a forbidden substance, he sits as near to the person or piece of baggage as he can. If he correctly sniffs out something, he's rewarded with a food treat. "You have to keep the dogs motivated," explains Crane. "You make the work a game and show them that you're very happy when they've done the job right, so they feel good about it." Perks for the beagles include rest periods, walks and water breaks between flights, vet care and grooming, and occasional visits to schoo
ls and other off-site locations to educate the public about the Depart-ment of Agriculture's mission.
Crane says she feels fortunate to be part of the program, "especially when I think that these dogs might not have had an opportunity to be alive. Now they're doing something interesting and worthwhile."
Barbara Carroll is a freelance writer living in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.
© 2002
ASPCA Animal Watch - Fall 2002
Courtesy of
ASPCA
424 East 92nd St.
New York, NY 10128-6804
(212) 876-7700
www.aspca.org
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