Customs' Canine Corps

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Customs' Canine Corps

t's one of the most selective training academies in the country. Only one in 100 qualified applicants enters its program and only 60 percent of those who enter graduate. At a recent recruiting event, 80 prospects tried out. None were accepted.

It's not West Point. It's not the FBI Academy. It's the U.S. Customs Service's Canine Enforcement Training Center in Front Royal, Va.-the elite academy for law enforcement's top dogs.

The center's 12-week training program prepares canine cops to sniff out illegal drugs. After graduating, each dog is issued a gold badge to wear on its collar. There are 450 badge-wearing dogs working for the Customs Service .

If you think the center is looking only for well-bred, well-behaved dogs, think again. What the Customs Service wants is aggressive, rough-and-tumble dogs with good jumping skills (to get up into the backs of suspicious tractor-trailers). Recruits must weigh at least 45 pounds. Faint-hearted dogs need not apply. Customs canines must be able to stay focused when sniffing and not be distracted by horns honking and suspects shouting.

Puppies can be inspired to one day become Customs Service drug sniffers with the service's baseball-style trading cards, featuring the all-star dogs of law enforcement. The cards are given out at schools throughout the country.

So start training now. Someday, your mutt could be pictured on his own rookie card.