Explosives detectionTrinity University students help raise bomb sniffing dog
With the help of students at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Jjurgens is being trained to fight against terrorism; Jjurgens, a four-month old yellow Labrador retriever, is the only dog in the United States being fostered at a university or school under the Transportation Security Administration Canine Breeding and Development Center program
With the help of students at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Jjurgens is being trainedto fight against terrorism.
Jjurgens, a four-month old yellow Labrador retriever, is the only dog in the United States being fostered at a university or school under the Transportation Security Administration Canine Breeding and Development Center program based out of Lackland Air Force Base.
According to Scott Thomas, the program manager, the goal is to have universities help raise dogs that will eventually detect explosives or narcotics.
Jjurgens first arrived at Trinity University in December and will remain there until October when program staff will decide if she is suitable for training. Eligibility requirements include meeting health standards for hips, elbow, and eyes.
So far the program at Lackland has helped train more than 550 canines for the TSA, Pentagon, and other law enforcement agencies since it began raising explosive-detecting dogs in 2002.
Each dog is named after a 9/11 victim, and Jjurgens is in honor of Paul Jurgens, a Port authority police officer who was last seen on his way to assist response efforts at the World Trade Center. The additional “J” in her name represents that she was bred at Lackland.
“It keeps the victims of 9/11 in people’s memory,” said David Tuttle, Trinity’s dean of students, in an interview with My San Antonio. “I never would have known about Paul Jurgens if it hadn’t been for Jjurgens.”
Each night the puppy heads home with Tuttle, while during the day it spends time in the office of Katharine Martin, the coordinator for student-edited publications.
So far the students have taken quite a liking to Jjurgens with more than forty signing up just to spend a few minutes with the dog, walking or playing with her.
“I am a huge animal lover. So I think it’s really great to be able to interact with animals at school,” said freshman Maddie Winchester. “It’s also just a really good way to give back since we’re training her to hopefully help protect all of us.”
