You will feel safe from the Global Threat of Islamoterroristicalism when you learn that, yes, the Glorious People's Comrades of the Transportation Security Administration are now naming dogs after 9/11 victims
Dolan the Wonder Dog
Rule #1: You gotta live in Texas.
Meet Dolan, TSA's 500th puppy to be born into the TSA Puppy Program. Each of the puppies are named after a 9/11 victim to honor their memory, and this puppy was named after Capt. Robert Edward Dolan Jr., who lost his life in the attack on the Pentagon.
And even better, your Glorious People's Comrades have Agency, who've taken time away from their busy day groping grandparents and breast cancer survivors to give you, yes you, Comrade Citizen, a chance finally participate in catching Osama bin Laden next time he flies through one of our fine airports. No, I'm not talking about going shopping (but keep doing that, Osama hates it!) but rather:
Once the puppies are born into the program, they have to be fostered by volunteer families for up to a year prior to their training. If you live in the San Antonio or Austin area and are interested in fostering a puppy such as Dolan, TSA will provide all the food, equipment and veterinary care in exchange for providing a stimulating environment where the puppy can grow and develop.
According to Ministry of Homeland Security:
TSA's program was initially started in 1999 with six adult females and two adult males that were provided by the NBDC to establish a breeding colony. Later, the NBDC also contributed a total of 17 puppies to the program. Before Sept. 11, 2001, there was no great urgency to produce explosives detection canines; however, that changed as the day unfolded. The first breeding occurred in January 2002, and the program has since produced over 500 puppies.
Hmmm ... 500 puppies in 9 years. There's about a 50% wash out rate (failures turn into house pets, sleep on your sofa, and knock over stuff on your coffee table with their tails), so that gives us 250 dogs.
Let's take your typical drug detection pooch, that most beloved of breeds, the labrador retriever. These pooches live for 10 to 12 years, so the ones brought on in 2001 should be retiring by now. But let's just assume that all 250 dogs are still on duty? How many dogs is that, really?
Let's get some perspective.
Bedbugs are a problem these days in the Shining City on a Hill, and, if you credit Wikipedia:
Bedbug detection dogs are relatively new. The National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association, states that there are over 100 dogs currently working in the U.S., but this number is increasing, while the International Forensic Detection Canine Association, based in the US, estimates well over 200 and counting. IFEDCA, founded by a Certified Master Trainer, Bill Whitstine, also estimates that the need for bed bug dogs far outweighs the supply. Bill Whitstine was the first trainer to train and certify bed bug detection dogs in the United States and has an estimated 150 dogs internationally.
So, bombs on aircraft are worth 250 dogs, bedbugs 200.