30 Minutes Bay Area

by Sherry Hu
(CBS 5) First it was box cutters, now toothpaste.

After British authorities broke up yet another apparent terrorist plot to blow up planes, people worried, and wondered, "How do you keep up with the terrorists?"

Believe it or not, one answer is as low tech as it gets. The United States government is building an army that runs on kibble.

Erwin is a raw recruit in the fight against terrorism.

Even as the 7-month-old Labrador puppy chomps ice cubes, pulls on loose ropes, splashes in the kiddy pool, and scurries wantonly around the neighborhood, the government is hoping to turn Erwin into a polished graduate of the Transportation Security Administration's Explosive Detection Canine Program.

Although dogs have been protecting air travelers since 1972, America is developing a new breed of bomb sniffing dogs, born out of the urgency of 9/11. Before the attack, the government bought its dogs almost exclusively from Europe. But within days of 9/11, the U.S. bred its first litter at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

"What we're thinking is we're going to make the perfect dog," says Scott Thomas, head of TSA's new puppy program. "We're going to take the genetic stock and craft it in such a way to meet our purposes."

A step towards that perfect dog is the Vizslador. Thomas cross-bred a Hungarian hound called a Vizsla—known for its inherent pointing sense—with the search drive of a Labrador Retriever. Only two Vizsladors have been assigned to active duty. That includes "Qualben," age 17 months, a sleek brown hound working with police officer Michael Stolzman to patrol Oakland International Airport.

Since 9/11, more than 200 puppies have been bred by the TSA.

Of his breeding efforts Thomas says, "Eventually they won't be Labrador retrievers, they'll be explosive detection retrievers. They'll be very specific for our need compared to a Labrador that's raised for hunting or for a pet."

Thomas looks for more than good noses.


He also wants dogs to be curious, independent, and energetic. They have to love fun and games, he says—surprising for the serious business of sniffing out bombs, but essential for training and working. That's because for a bomb dog, it's a perpetual game of hide-and-seek.

At Lackland Air Base is a row of full-sized passenger airplanes, parked side-by-side with the wings cut off. On board one plane, San Jose police officer Elias Juric and his German Shepherd Rocky are doing a training exercise, looking for an explosive decoy tucked into an overhead bin. When Rocky senses the "bomb," he doesn't lunge—that might set off a real bomb. Instead he sits, ears perked, fur quivering. Suddenly officer Juric tosses Rocky his favorite toy—a green ball called a "kong"—followed by heaps of praise: "Good boy! Good boy! That's a good boy!"

Next to the planes are several warehouses. Inside one is a mock cargo terminal. Next to that, a baggage carousel. A third building houses a vast replica of the Atlanta airport gate areas, complete with ticket kiosks, bathrooms, even a Coke machine. The whole elaborate setup enables the dogs and their handlers to hone their skills in realistic working environments.

But what's so good about dogs compared to other security measures?

Thomas says they are more mobile than machinery and can respond quickly to suspicious packages. They also can be re-trained, adapting to new threats.

Take the case of the alleged plot to blow up planes with liquids and gels, foiled by British authorities. Dogs can be trained to sniff out different ingredients—"a crime lab in a nose" says David Kontny, head of TSA's Explosives Detection Canine Program.

"The key thing is preparedness," says Thomas. "Figuring out what is the highest likelihood of what's going to be used by the terrorists and just trying to stay a step ahead of them all the time—and starting to train the dogs with any compound that we think might be associated with what's being used."

Here in the Bay Area, TSA added three new teams in August to patrol BART. San Francisco's MUNI expects to get a team soon. And all three Bay Area airports have dogs on patrol.

And remember Qualben, the bomb sniffing Vizslador now on duty at Oakland airport? If you're wondering how he got his unusual name—all of the new dogs bred by the TSA are named after victims of 9/11.

Lars Peter Qualben died at the World Trade Center.

Recently, officer Michael Stolzman phoned the wife of Lars Peter Qaulben to tell her about her husband's namesake. He was a little worried about how she would react, but says, "I think she was moved. She was extremely touched by it."

And so, as memories of 9/11 still linger…and Americans travel nervously into the future…we turn to our most advanced technology to protect us.

But we are also relying on something much more primal.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)