Gene Kerven started his career with Customs at the Canine Training Center in 1970 when it was located in San Antonio, Texas. At that time there were no dog handlers with Customs experience, they were all ex-military dog handlers or search and rescue officers.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Gene Kerven, Director, Canine Enforcement Program, with pal "Flash" in front of the new Canine Training Center.

He came from Colorado where he was working with that state's Search and Rescue. While assigned to San Antonio he had the opportunity to work and train dogs in almost every port on the Southwest Border. He also worked along the Northern Border and understands the differences between the two. "It's a totally different working environment and people's attitudes towards Customs are different," says Kerven.

When the Canine Training Center moved from San Antonio to its present home in Front Royal, Kerven went with it. Eventually he left the training center and started working his way up through the Office of Inspection and Control (now known as the Office of Field Operations) as an inspector, port director, deputy district director, district director, and area director. He was ready to retire and return to Search and Rescue in Montana when the position of Director, Canine Enforcement Program, became available. He jumped at it. His experience at the training center and in the field enables him to combine the two areas and bring a field perspective to the training program.

Kerven recognizes that as times change training has to adapt. "In the past, people with three to five years of dog-handling experience were recruited as canine enforcement officers (CEOs) and they were assigned a dog to work with. Now there are people entering the canine training program with no dog-handling experience, and who may never have had a dog at the end of a leash," says Kerven. CEOs are now matched with their dogs using criteria such as the size of the dog, its temperament, and personality.

The canine staff also looks at seizure reports on a daily basis. They look for new masking agents and concealment methods to add to the training. The curriculum has been redesigned so that dogs and CEOs are being trained in situations that are as close to real working conditions as possible. According to Kerven, "This will produce a team that can work as effectively in an airport as it will at a border crossing."

The dogs are now viewed as finely honed athletes and because they're athletes, sports medicine is being applied. Stretching and warm-up exercises are implemented and the CEOs are given classes in first aid. They're being trained to inspect the dogs' pads, nails, gums, skin, and coat on a daily basis, and to know what red flags to look for so that the dogs remain healthier longer.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Recent deliveries at the Canine Training Center dreaming of future seizures.

In the past the dogs were fed once a day, after training. Current research indicated that this needed to be changed. They are now being fed twice a day. "You don't send your child out without breakfast, why would you send a dog out without breakfast?" says Kerven. He adds, "This has paid off in dogs that have more stamina and energy during the training day. Changing the feeding habits and looking at the dogs as athletes has resulted in greater longevity in the dogs and a lower dropout rate. There is a higher graduation rate and the dogs are better workers once they reach their duty station."

"We're producing a product. Does it meet the customer's needs? If it doesn't, we'll change it," says Kerven. "We have a lot of competition in the dog training area and we want to remain the premier training facility."

In his off time, he and his wife, Rita, are outdoor people who enjoy the types of activities that winter brings. They love to ski, travel to where they can track migrating whales or elk, and climb mountains to photograph big horned sheep. During the summer they camp and hike. When not training detector dogs for Customs, Kerven's training retrievers and Search and Rescue dogs. "The most important thing is for the team to meld together to form six legs, four eyes, two brains, and one heart," says Kerven. "You have to have a love of all animals or you're in the wrong job."

Kerven has come full circle: He started his career at the Canine Training Center and in July 2000 he returned. If that's any indication, Gene Kerven is very much in the right job.