Meet Golden Jingles
West Point's own Bomb Sniffing
Dogs Help Keep Academy Safe
Story
and photo by Kathy Eastwood, Pointer View Staff Writer, August 19, 2005
K-9 handler Steve Osborne and his explosives
sniffing partner Jingles, a two-year-old Golden Retriever, routinely
visit
West Point and are a valuable force
protection and emergency
management tool. |
|
In the aftermath of 9/11, the nation’s minds turned to
developing the best way to ensure our safety. And man’s best friend is assisting
in this effort. “West Point has had explosive detection
K-9’s here since Sept. 2003,” said Gerald Knapp from the Emergency Management
Office here. “They are a valuable tool for us in force protection and emergency
management and we have successfully
used them several times to clear suspicious packages and items unintentionally
left behind.” West Point has two explosive sniffing
teams, Knapp said. Jim Spratt and Harry, his black Labrador, have worked here
from the beginning. Steve Osborne and his dog Jingles, a Golden Retriever,
augment the other pair. “Additionally,
the handlers all have police, emergency services or bomb squad experience, which
gives the team the depth to detect and conduct a rapid and effective initial
investigation, often resolving the incident before it escalates,” he added.
Lately, Osborne and the two-year-old Jingles have worked
at the Visitors Center here. “We generally use
Labradors and Golden Retrievers because they are good with people, have a lot of
energy, like to work and are calm in intense situations,” Osborne said.
Jingles was put through ‘basic’ training for three months
and can sniff out most of the common explosives. So far, no machine has been
invented that can detect explosives as well as a well-trained dog, he said.
“Humans have five million olfactory sensors whereas dogs
have 200 million,” Osborne said. Jingles has worked the
gates of West Point, football games and graduation here as well as working at
the Staten Island Ferry where he has a fan club, Osborne said.
When not working, Jingles stays with Osborne as is the
case with most handlers. “Explosive sniffers generally
work for eight to ten years,” Osborne explained. “After retirement, if he and I
are still together, he will retire to my sofa.” Osborne
said the cost of training a dog is approximately $12,000, so it is imperative
they deal with reputable breeders. “We need to make
sure that the dog is unlikely to develop health problems, can be easily trained
and that their temperament is easy going, so we are very particular about where
we get our dogs,” he said. Explosive sniffing dogs are
generally not cross-trained to locate drugs because most drug sniffers are
trained to be more aggressive and will tug and claw a piece of luggage or bag,
which is dangerous with explosives. “Our
dogs are trained to use the passive response. When an explosive device is
sensed, the dog will sit down and stare at the handler. Dogs can get an award of
food or toys, but Jingles will wait for his ball,” Osborne explained.
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