RexSpecs Secret Service Dogs

Issue 1 | January/February 2017 | $9.95Muzzle Trainingfor Police PatrolCaninesSecret Service Dogs Let’s Train Health & Wellness for the Thin Blue Line Not on My Watch... Introducing Mike Ritland’s Understanding Macronutrients or My Dog’s Team Dog Online Training

SecretService Dogs NOT ON MY WATCH...OR MY DOG’S By Maria Goodavage A man wearing white basketball- style shorts and a long-sleeved shirt bounded toward the White House fence and vaulted it almost effortlessly. He landed on the soft grass of the north lawn and barely pausing, sprang up and sprinted toward the White House. President Obama and his family were in residence that evening. There was no telling if the fence jumper was armed, what his intentions were, or if he was just a distraction for something really bad about to go down. And the U.S. Secret Service Emergency Response Team (ERT) at the White House couldn’t afford to try to figure it out. 2 0 | workingdogmagazine.com

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA January/February 2017 | 21

“If you let downyour guard on thejob, it can change the history of the world.” Special Agent Bill G. Canine program manager of the Secret Service “If you let down your guard on the job,” says Special Agent Bill G., canine program manager of the Secret Service, “it can change the history of the world.” The intruder wasn’t stopping for anyone. ERT canine handler Marshall M. knew what he had to do. He gave Hurricane, his black Belgian Malinois, a command and loosened his grip on the dog’s lead. Hurricane flew through the darkness, a black flash against the red and blue lights of the Secret Service vehicles in the background. To Marshall, he looked like a superhero leaping forward to save the day. The LED lights at the end of the ERT Knight’s Armament SR-16 rifles cast small circles of light on the fence jumper as Hurricane pursued him. The dog didn’t give up or slow down, even when the intruder punched him relentlessly. The dogs of the U.S. Secret Service have worked in the shadows since the agency’s canine program began 40 years ago. Their mission – protecting the president, vice- president, their families, presidential candidates, and visiting dignitaries – is seemingly high-profile. But chances are you won’t have heard much about them. They don’t call it the Secret Service for nothing. 2 2 | workingdogmagazine.com

These dogs work long hours,all over the globe, regardless ofthe political climate or the dangerlevel. They’re among the topfrequent fliers of the canine world,with more than 200 flights – manyinternational – during the courseof their careers. In presidentialcampaign years, Secret Service dogschalk up an average of 36 flights. Fortunately they’re nonpartisan,and protect Republicans andDemocrats with equal vigor.Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obamahave all had Secret Service dogswatching out for their safety. So willDonald Trump. The dogs don’t careabout politics. What counts to themis what counts in the hearts of mostdogs: Making the most importantperson in their lives happy. SecretService dogs work tirelessly, simplyfor their handlers’ heartfelt praiseand the bounce of a coveted rubbertoy. In other words, their paycheck. Secret Service explosives detectiondogs ply their trade wherever thepresident goes, sniffing for explosivesbefore the president sets foot in hotelrooms, on streets, and in privatehomes or public venues. These dogs– trained on every known explosive– have found explosive devices.But you will not have heard aboutthese “finds.” The Secret Servicehas never publicly revealed these.OPSEC (operational security) is moreimportant than positive publicity,no matter how much the agencyhas needed a dose of good PR. The dogs are taken seriously bysecurity experts. If an explosivesdetection dog alerts near theWhite House, it can put the WhiteHouse on lockdown, prevent thepresident from leaving or re-entering the White House, andinterrupt presidential meetings. January/February 2017 | 23

WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOWABOUT SECRET SERVICE DOGS 1. If a Secret Service explosives detection dog alerts near the White House, it can prevent the president from leaving or re-entering the White House, or interrupt presidential meetings. 2. Every visitor to the White House is screened by a dog, but most never realize it. And every vehicle that enters the White House complex gets searched by a dog. The average Secret Service explosives detection canine searches 7,020 vehicles per year. 3. Secret Service dogs are among the top frequent fliers of the canine world, with more than 200 flights — many international — during the course of their careers. In presidential campaign years, Secret Service dogs chalk up an average of 36 flights. 4. Secret Service dogs have found explosive devices, but you will not have heard about these “finds.” The Secret Service has never revealed these because of OPSEC (operational security). 5. With missions as vital as those of Secret Service canine teams, there’s no room for error. “If you let down your guard on the job, it can change the history of the world,” says the USSS agent in charge of the canine program. 6. Emergency Response Team (ERT) dogs — the tactical dogs of the Secret Service — are top dogs, winning gold at a popular K-9 Olympics whenever they attend. 7. Confronted by every type of enemy and scenario in training, USSS ERT handlers sweat in full bite suits in 110-degree heat, get shot at with “sim” rounds, get knocked down like bowling pins by dogs, and apprehend some of the most heinous bad guys imaginable, maintaining absolute control of their dogs at all times. 8. ERT dogs are so well trained that they can be leaping and in mid-air about to bite a “bad guy,” but not follow through if their handlers call them off — with just a single command. 9. Secret Service dogs, like most military dogs, are usually born and raised for a couple of years in European countries such as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Most are Belgian Malinois, not German shepherds. 10. Unlike their counterparts in the military, Secret Service canines live with their handlers. 11. Secret Service and military handlers can adopt their canine partners when the dogs retire. 12. Squirrels, which thrive in the White House area, have been tormenting Secret Service24 | workingddooggmsafgoarzidnee.ccaomdes.

RIGHT: Protecting the president is seriousbusiness, and both dogs and handlers thrive on it. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Secret Service Every visitor to the White House is screened Former USA Today journalist Maria Goodavage isby a dog, but most never realize it because considered one of the foremost author experts on thethe dogs work behind a louvre screen. And training and service of military working dogs after theevery vehicle that enters the White House publications of her critically-acclaimed New York Timescomplex gets searched by a dog. The average bestselling books, Soldier Dogs, and Top Dog, aboutSecret Service explosives detection canine Marine hero Lucca, who recently received the Dickinsearches more than 7,000 vehicles per year. Medal for bravery. Goodavage’s experience and knowledge earned her the Two years ago the Secret Service began its trust of the United States Secret Service, and now she“friendly dog program” to further expand the offers readers the results of her unprecedented access tocircle of protection for the White House, and its canine program in Secret Service Dogs: The Heroeshelp stanch suicide bombers and others intent on Who Protect the President of the United States.​doing harm. Affable-looking dogs like Labrador She has appeared on numerous national TV shows,retrievers and springer spaniels were trained including The Daily Show With Jon Stewart andto sniff for explosives on passersby outside the Today, and has given talks about military dogs at theWhite House fence. It was the first time the New York Stock Exchange, National Museum of theagency had tapped into the abilities of dogs to United States Air Force, and other large venues.detect vapor trails of highly specific scents. Goodavage lives in San Francisco with her family and yellow Lab puppy, Gus, who is a living memorial to a The performance and abilities of Secret Service fallen military dog and handler she wrote about in Topdogs continues to earn them an ever-greater Dog. More on his special story another time.role in a defense strategy that must constantly Website: mariagoodavage.comanticipate new threats, both for the White Houseand for “the road,” where the asymmetrical January/February 2017 | 25nature of the War on Terror is always looming. “We have to assume Paris is coming,” sayslead U.S. Secret Service canine trainer BrianM., referring to the deadly terrorist attacks inthe French capital in 2015. “We train for it dayand night, in the craziest scenarios possible.” Regardless of their dogs’ specialty, SecretService canine handlers share one unspokenmantra: “Not on my watch. Or my dog’s.”