see also: in January 2009:   CBP Officers Discover 957 Pounds of Marijuana in Concrete Pipes   CBP Canine Detects $600,000 Worth of Marijuana at Douglas Port   CBP Officers Seize $80,000 of Marijuana at Naco Port of Entry   Border Patrol Stops Vehicle, Leads to Meth Seizure   CBP Officers at Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge Seize Fake $20’s Found during Outbound Inspection   Border Patrol Agents Rescue Woman Injured in Car Accident   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Arrest Wanted Sex Offender ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Louisville, Ky. — “Man’s best friend” is usually pictured to be a cuddly family dog playing with children or fetching slippers for their owners. When Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville, Ky., think about man’s best friend they think of “Manny,” a hard working, seven-year-old black Labrador Retriever who served as one of the most determined and successful CBP narcotic detector dogs for the past four years until his retirement last week.

With more than 900 interceptions of illegal shipments of narcotics at the express consignment operation at the Louisville International Airport, Manny and his human partner seized more than 20,000 pounds of marijuana, 500 pounds of cocaine and more than $1.1 million in undeclared currency.

	CBP officers at the Louisville, Ky. port of entry congratulate Manny, a very successful detector dog, upon his retirement.

In addition, 29 arrests can be attributed to Manny’s narcotic detections. In order to discover such a large number of drugs Manny examined more than1.8 million parcels during his service to CBP as a narcotic detector dog exclusively at the Louisville port of entry.

“Manny was not only man’s best friend but a dope smuggler’s worst nightmare,” said David J. Murphy, CBP director of field operations in Chicago. “CBP currently has 1,200 CBP canine teams that not only detect hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs each day but also detect concealed humans smuggled into this country and prohibited agriculture products, explosives and undeclared currency. I would like to congratulate Manny and his handler for a job well done.”

During a brief CBP retirement ceremony, K-9 Manny was presented with a CBP medal by Louisville Port Director Gary Halkins for his tremendously productive and dedicated service. In attendance at the event were CBP field operation officers, agriculture specialists and Manny’s fellow detector dogs Molly, Henry and Rosco whom he worked with during his career.

CBP employs dogs as long as they can successfully perform and meet workload requirements. The service career of a detector dog will typically last no longer than eight years. In Manny’s case, he retired early due to a medical issue and was adopted by his CBP K-9 handler and partner. This ensures that Manny will be comfortable in retirement and maybe will find time to play with children or fetch his owner’s slippers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.