Government Waste for a Good Cause?

[margotb822]

Ok, so I'm reading this article: In Iraq, a Marine's best friend is a dog with 42 teeth

I can support using dogs to find explosives, although maybe not attack detainees. But, yea, I see where they're going with this. And then I get to this paragraph (the incorrect spacing came with the article, too): The Department of Defense buys them from breeders in Germany , Holland , the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe when they're around 18 months old. They cost $3,000 to $7,000 each.

I'm not a dog person, but that seems pretty expensive to me. What is so special about these European-bread dogs? I'm positive that this cannot be the lowest bidder.

I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this is poor acquisition on the part of the DoD. Or is the cost justifiable?