COOL puppies

The Puppy Program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the birth of the 500th puppy to be born into the program, Dolan. He will be trained by the TSA's National Explosives Detection Canine Team to eventually be able to detect explosives in airports and other transportation systems nationwide. The K-9 Team was created post 9/11 to help fight terrorism.

All the puppies in the program are named after a 9/11 victim in hopes of honoring their memory. Dolan, the newest member of the program, is named after Captain Robert Eward Dolan Jr. who was a victim of the attack on the Pentagon. Lisa Dolan, the late Captain Dolan's wife, expresses her gratitude, "My children and I are very excited to have a puppy named in Bob's memory. Bob began his military career as an explosives ordinance expert. When he was killed at the Pentagon, he was working on Homeland Defense, and so it's very fitting to have one of the TSA puppies named for our hero. Knowing "Puppy Dolan" will one day be an explosives detection canine in the service of our country is reassuring. Dolan's future career keeping travelers safe is a fitting addition to Bob's legacy of freedom."

The program has been around for nine years, based at Lackland Air Force Base, and about half of the 500 puppies are still working in the field while others have become breeders. The dogs go through a very extensive training program and are fostered out to families in the San Antonio or Austin areas from ten weeks to 12 months of age. The families provide a nurturing environment for the puppies to grow and develop mentally as well as socially while the TSA supplies the food, equipment, and all veterinary care.

John S. Pistole, TSA Administrator, is proud of the things the program has accomplished, "We are proud that the program has provided hundreds of world class puppies over the past nine years. Our dogs continue to perform at a high level and enhance TSA's explosives detection capabilities."

The TSA is hoping to expand to 200 puppies per year who need fostering. For those of you presently living or planning on living in the San Antonio and Austin areas and interested in fostering a TSA puppy please visit www.tsa.gov and in the search area type "puppies" or call 210-671-1624.

Here's to all the puppies who are born into the TSA Puppy Program and named after a victim of 9/11-keep sniffing-stay puppy like, stay tail wagging, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of the TSA's National Explosives Detection K-9 Team and the puppies born into the program? Would you be willing to foster a puppy from 10 weeks old to 12 months of age?