"Billy" stands by as his handler, Karl Davis, inspects a passenger's luggage for contraband agricultural products.

Each separate program had different training locations and methods and different missions. Two of the programs looked for narcotics and hidden people, while another program looked for food products. One program looked for narcotics and currency. One of the programs also did search and rescue. Three of the programs worked at the seaports, airports, and land borders while the fourth worked between the borders. The question became how do we make these four different programs work together as one seamless cooperative effort to keep our borders safe?

A CBP immigration officer and his canine partner work a line of cars waiting to cross into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry.

That was then, this is now
Four separate, distinct canine programs are now a thing of the past. CBP now has an Office of Field Operations (OFO) program and an Office of Border Patrol (OBP) program that have two distinct training facilities and requirements. The former INS and Agriculture programs were integrated with the Customs Service program to form the OFO program. OFO currently has 851 teams in the field. OBP has 376 certified canine teams in the field with 130 additional teams scheduled for training in FY04, which means in FY04 will have a record number of canines.

A new title
With the advent of the "CBP Officer" position, Canine Enforcement Officer will no longer exist. OFO will fill all canine handler

Photo Credit: Gerald L. Nino

Senior Border Patrol Agent John Nieves and his canine "Kitt" keep watch at the Indio Station checkpoint in the El Centro sector in California.

positions with CBP Officers who have a minimum of three years experience.

These officers will be called CBP Officers (K9). This change brings CBP more in line with police departments and other federal agencies that have canine programs. It also develops a well-rounded officer who is knowledgeable and proficient in all aspects of CBP's mission.

A spirit of cooperation
As of now, there is no plan to merge training facilities due to the unique training environments needed for each office. In the spirit of cooperation, the Border Patrol last year provided OFO with access to its facilities for a replacement dog training class in El Paso and the Border Patrol is training explosive dogs at the Canine Enforcement Training Center in Front Royal, Va. This cooperation is sure to continue and expand in the future.

Trained noses
CBP canines detect narcotics, concealed people, agricultural products, currency, chemicals, and explosives.

Photo Credit: Gerald L. Nino

An Instructor at the CBP Canine Enforcement Training Center demonstrates the abilities of one of the chemical detection dogs.

There are search and rescue teams and cadaver recovery teams. The nearly 1300 hard working canine teams that make up the U.S. Customs and Border Protection canine programs are dedicated to keeping America's citizens and visitors safe from terrorists, terrorist weapons, and illegal contraband. They help to find the lost, the injured, and those that have died trying to enter the U.S. They are working to keep our agricultural industry free of the pests and diseases that could decimate our food supply. One of CBP's dogs, Crazy Joe, was even voted America's "top dog" in the Purina Paws to Recognize program.