"FAA Gets Into Dog-Breeding Business"

Wednesday, January 9, 2002

FAA Gets Into Dog-Breeding Business 
By Keith L. Alexander
The Washington (DC) Post


As if the Federal Aviation Administration didn't have enough to do, it's
now going to start breeding dogs.

Bomb-sniffing dogs are the front line of airport security, along with
explosives-detection equipment and checkpoint screening personnel. But
the 175 dogs that roam 39 U.S. airports sniffing for explosives aren't
considered sufficient in the post-Sept. 11 environment.

By Jan. 18, all checked luggage must be examined for explosives, and
with bomb-detection equipment in short supply, security officials are
increasing their reliance on dogs.

The FAA wants 300 dogs patrolling 80 airports by next year. Dogs can
work for about eight hours, but they must take frequent breaks because
their detection ability fades after a while.

The FAA will purchase some of the dogs, but it will also begin breeding
its own, starting with five Labrador retriever puppies, gifts from the
Australian government.

FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler said the agency prefers Labs and Belgian
Malinois -- a breed similar to the German shepherd -- because they are
highly energized, have good stamina and are friendly with people. But
she added: "We'd take a pink poodle if he was qualified."

The dogs begin training at a year old and go through a 14-week training
course. They can work until they turn 12 or 13 years old. After that,
they generally retire and live with their handler, most of whom are
airport police officers.

It costs the FAA about $40,000 per dog per year to run the "K-9 units."
Those costs, Trexler said, include food and veterinary care.

The FAA will spend an additional $5 million to increase the number of
dogs to 300. The breeding and training program will be run out of the
Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where military dogs also are
trained.

Dog-breeding expert Peggy Rizzo, owner of Eastside K-9 Training Academy
in Streator, Ill., said that with the FAA breeding its own dogs, the
agency can better ensure the animals are free of disease.

"You don't want a bomb-sniffing dog so loaded with allergies that he has
to stop and scratch every two minutes," said Rizzo. "If they do their
own, they know exactly what the parents and grandparents are and what
lines the dogs are coming from."

Bag Matching Causes Delays

In addition to using more bomb-sniffing dogs, some airlines plan to meet
the Jan. 18 security requirements through a baggage-matching program --
matching every piece of luggage with every passenger. Ideally, a recent
American Airlines incident in St. Louis won't be an indication of things
to come.

On Thursday, American, the world's largest airline, began testing its
bag-matching program at Lambert International Airport. Several FAA
inspectors noticed that the airline's agents were not thoroughly
inspecting some of the bags, and they grounded 30 flights until the
airline rechecked the luggage.

During this process, 28 of American's arriving flights were stuck on the
runway, waiting for gates to be cleared. Flights were delayed as much as
50 minutes.

American spokeswoman Julia Bishop-Cross said the FAA questioned how the
airline handled baggage screening under the new procedures, although FAA
spokesman Tony Molinaro said American's action had violated existing
security requirements.

To former FAA security head Billie Vincent, that type of back-and-forth
between the airlines and the government signals that a lot of kinks need
to be worked out.

But what really worries Vincent is that the airlines are starting the
bag-matching program during snow season, when winter storms often result
in lost luggage and missed flights.

"This is the worst time of the year because of inclement weather. The
combination of the weather and the new procedures will result in some
additional delays," Vincent said. In 1985, Vincent required all U.S.
airlines to implement bag matching on international flights.

Currently, most airlines require passengers to check their bags at least
30 minutes before departure. But Hyuk Park, an airline analyst with San
Francisco-based Roberts Roach & Associates, said he expects some
airlines to add an extra 30 minutes.

"It depends on how much the airline can handle and the technology the
airline has implemented," Park said. "But if the world's largest airline
had trouble, it could be a precursor of what we can expect from the
others."

In the past, many airlines have argued against bag matching, saying it
was costly and would limit the airlines' ability to add more flights.
Many airlines declined to detail their bag-matching plans, saying they
did not want to talk about their security efforts.

There is an added benefit to all this, said Vincent: "At least you'll
have greater assurance that your bag will get to the same destination as
you."


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