The TSA Wants You to Adopt Dogs That Flunked Out of Training

[meow2u3]

Want to adopt a lovable, hardworking dog, for absolutely free? The TSA, a.k.a. the group that makes you wait in long lines at the airport, is the unlikely source of your next best friend.

The Transportation Security Administration has a program that lets you adopt dogs that went through explosive-detecting training but just weren't up to snuff as bomb-sniffers. You can also adopt one of their dogs who have put in their time and retired from the program.

The dog breeds are usually German Shorthaired pointers, Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and Belgian Malinois. Those breeds were picked because of their high levels of "drive," meaning they're super active and love to run around. (Hint, hint: You should love to run around, too, and have a yard your new pet can romp around in.) They range in age between 2 and 10 years old.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a22518/tsa-dog-adoption-program/

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the proper forum.

[Kingofalldems]

1. Good idea.

[stevil]

2. Yes!!!!

I adopt dogs who didn't make the cut for special needs services as well as retired ones, I can tell you they are perfect. Trained, housebroken and smart as well as very sociable. Totally lovable creatures. Give them a home folks! you will have the best friend you've ever had.

[Maraya1969]

7. I was just thinking about a dog for my Mom. She is 84 and lives alone and loves when I bring my two

little ones down. And I was thinking an already trained dog would be perfect. Of course if she ever had to go to a facility that would not allow the dog I would take it.

She also has aphasia which is a disability because she has a very hard time talking after her stroke. I wonder if a dog would help her.

How did you get yours.

[stevil]

9. I confess

I donate to a private guide dog organization. I sponsor dogs in training and it all started when they had a need to place a retiring dog and they knew I had just lost a rescue I had for 7 years. An older, retired dog would be a good fit for your mom but most of the organizations might not feel she is the ideal fit. But you could always reach out to one of the local or national group and express an interest in her behalf. If they need a home they might contact you. Good luck!

[awoke_in_2003]

19. I hadn't thought

about them already being house broken. Genius.

[shenmue]

3. Cool! You can also post in Pets

Squee!

[madaboutharry]

4. And all really well behaved dogs too.

I bet they all have the best manners.

[meow2u3]

5. There's only two problems

These dogs need active families (I live in a 1-bedroom apartment and have cats) and you have to go to San Antonio, TX to adopt them.

Maybe I ought to give the news to my sister, who's a dog lover who does have a backyard.

[jmowreader]

22. For a serious Dog adoptee that's only a slight problem

The local humane society (north Idaho) gets adoptees driving in from Utah and Colorado on a regular basis...about a year ago they got something REALLY exotic in and a guy cane from Rhode Island to pick it up.

[scscholar]

6. Why do they even still use dogs?

Studies have proven they're only slightly better than flipping a coin.

[Wilms]

8. Cite a study for us, professor.

Thanks.

[HassleCat]

10. Um, no.

Not even close. I have worked with accelerant detection dogs on fire investigations, and they are very good. I have seen TSA drilling its explosive sniffing dogs at the airport, and they appear to be quite good. My experience, both direct and indirect, does not coincide with your "studies."

[scscholar]

11. Oh please. I've seen a dog "hit" on sausage. (ntxt)

[HassleCat]

13. I have not seen that.

Not with the dogs I worked with. Keep in mind, these are not the dope sniffer dogs the police use a a pretext to search your car.

[LeftyMom]

15. UC Davis did a study. Guess what happened?

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10071-010-0373-2

An easier to parse summary:
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/2010-2011/02/20110223_drug_dogs.html

[HassleCat]

17. This bias is impossible in the field.

OK, I am not talking about the cop who tries to get his dog to alert on your car fro drugs. I'm talking about fire investigation dogs I have worked with. The handler does not know if accelerants have been used, and has even less idea where they might be. Even if the dog alerts, it must be confirmed by a lab analysis, so there is no incentive to get the dog to alert. The study referenced in the link purposely introduced handler bias, which cued the dogs to alert. In the field, the handle has no idea where the explosives might be hidden, so the handle is not "prompting" the dog. This "study" was constructed by people who do not understand the problem. Of course they found bias, because they introduced it themselves.

[LeftyMom]

18. Oh, is this your job?

No wonder you're so invested in the idea that it's not bullshit.

It's totally bullshit. Clever Hans.

[HassleCat]

21. Speaking of bullshit.

You seem to be buying a bushel of it (or however bullshit is sold) with this poorly constructed study. Good dog handlers know they're not supposed to influence the dog. Of course, sometimes they have incentive to get "results" when there is nothing there. What the study is measuring is handler influence, not dog capability. I worked with several different dogs and dog handlers on fire investigations, and their discoveries were always confirmed by laboratory tests. As in one hundred percent. I don't now about the bomb sniffing dogs, except watching them look for test substances in the airport. I have seen the dope sniffing beagles that US Customs uses, but I never saw one alert on anything. I am skeptical of the dope sniffing dogs the police use, because I believe the handlers have too much incentive to prompt the dog to alert, thus giving them probable cause to tear apart your car.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

23. I had a Chicago K-9 cop as a client.

She was working O'Hare airport after 9/11 when I met her.

I commented how I thought she was providing a valued service and she just rolled her eyes and said it was all for show.

Of course, that was at a time when they had National Guardsmen walking around with, what turned out later to be, rifles with no ammunition. They also parked Humvees out side each terminal as if a Humvee would stop a terrorist attack.

[HassleCat]

24. Police dogs and combat dogs

Dogs sometimes go after the wrong person, or don't go after anyone at all, or run away in fear, or other actions that make them kind of useless. In police work, their primary function seems to be scaring people, just in case the threat of being shot doesn't do it for you.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

29. Fortunately Chicago hasn't adopted the "dog as punishment" angle yet - like half of Florida has.

I've seen the videos and heard it from my sister.

My sister's kid is pretty much of a fuck up and hangs around some other fuck ups.

The kids were out doing what ever fuck up kids do - breaking in to cars, IIRC. The cops sicced the dogs on one of the kids and held him down while the dogs chewed on him. It was intentional punishment. My sister said the kid looked like he went through a wood chipper.

[Nay]

27. What??? I've worked alongside explosives detection dogs and they are

astoundingly accurate. At my former facility, they were tested each month to ensure they could still find stuff.

I have no idea where you get the idea that they are useless.

[Blue_Tires]

28. Then those dogs weren't properly trained

I don't know if it still happens, but years ago there was a racket among police dog trainers in certain states because the contractors just pocketed the money from the city/county and the dogs had inadequate or nonexistent training..

[NightWatcher]

12. That's cool. I bet they're fine dogs that just didn't want to work for The Man

When other dogs see German Shepherds, do they think "oh shit, it's the cops"?

[Ilsa]

14. Labrador Retrievers are awesome.

Love my labs.

[bluedigger]

16. My uncle used to adopt seeing eye dog rejects.

Wonderful, smart, and well trained dogs that failed some specific test that they needed to perform.

[OverBurn]

20. Very disappointed, not lot's of pictures.

[etherealtruth]

25. Yep ... I clicked hoping to see dogs :-)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

26. My boss has three ex-drug dogs fired for incompetence

Cheech, Chong and Jay. Jay as in Jay and Silent Bob.



They are delightful dogs, especially Chong.