Former Explosives Detection dog available for adoption - Page 4

http://www.freep.com/article/20120117/NEWS02/120117014/Arco-bomb-sniffing-dog-Detroit-Metro-Airport


As of 2:55PM EST, it appears Arco has been caught again, and is now being held at the Romulus animal shelter for a 10-day quarantine subsequent to the two bites he made on two airport officers who tried to catch him. :(  I sure as hell hope that is experience doesn't wind up being the end of him after so much effort was put into saving his life to begin with...sad that he was safely ensconced in a foster home in Arizona where he had no problems with anyone, and now he's got not one, but TWO human bites on record against him from this debacle. 

And I can't help myself:  I really, really don't understand how ANYONE with a lick of dog-sense takes a strange dog out of a crate in a wide-open outdoor space like a freakin' airport... If the cargo staff won't let you take the dog out of the crate inside the enclosed, doors-shut cargo office, then the dog needs to stay in the crate until you get the whole thing into an enclosed area, be it a bathroom, office or car, before that crate door gets opened wide enough to slip a martingale or slip/choker/martingale/fursaver collar on with a leash already attached to it.  

Channel 7 reported that the new owner took the dog out and he slipped out of his collar. Anyway After the quarantine he can go home with his new owner.

Arco is safe at the animal control facility. It is aparently not a bad place, clean and warm. Once on-line he relaxed, played fetch and was his usual happy self with all concerned. They like him and understand how a dog might bite when grabbed by strangers, so no vicious dog points against him. He is going to Ohio anyway.  His AZ Rescue handler plans to go up to handle him, help him transition to his new home.
I already beat the hell out of the "never let a strange dog out of its crate in a place it can escape, especially an airport" thing, elsewhere. I'm not a huge fan of placing a working dog in a novice home either, at least not till they are seniors and WAY settled down, but not being involved first-hand, its not really my place to make that call.

The important thing is the dog is safe and no worse for wear. No TV for 10 days, but he'll live. Hopefully there won't be any more incidents to report.

The dog was on our news today as well, here in Omaha, NE. I however,  only caught enough of the story to recognize the dog. Glad to see he is OK.

I need to clear up some mis-information about the dog Arco.  Arco was not a bomb sniffing dog-  he was intended to be, but failed the training- He is only 5 years old, lived at a private home in VA for 3.5 yrs, bomb dogs don't get trained until around 1 year, training takes 3 months- that leaves 3 months he could have actually "worked"  if you need confirmation of this the information should be available through the Capitol Police's public information line.
The cat that Arco killed was asleep in the corner of a porch on a chair when he grabbed her and killed her-  she did not enter his yard and did not provoke him in any way.  She was 16 years old, and had a name- Brittany.  The King George County VA animal control can verify this story.
Killing a cat in VA- is NOT a death sentence-  the owners were given the option to keep their dog but they had to follow dangerous dog rules such as building a fence.  They decided instead to send the dog to AZ.  He is not allowed back in VA as he is now deemed a dangerous dog that has been removed from the state. 
This dog is not going to OH- but back to AZ-  he should never again be put up for adoption and should remain in AZ.  
Having known this dog personally, I know he will continue to be dangerous to small animals since he additionally killed his previous owners pet rabbit and one of my pet chickens, although neither of those incidents were reported to AC.  He has now also bitten two people making him additionally dangerous to people.
It is sad to me that so much money and effort has gone into, and will continue to go into this one dangerous dog-  when thousands upon thousands on innocent dogs who have never harmed anyone or anything will be put to death just because they are not pedigreed and noone is coming to adopt them.  Put the effort where it belongs- into the innocent- not into guilty dangerous dogs.

LoveForBrittany, I'm sincerely sorry about Brittany the cat--and I'd feel that way even if she HAD entered the dog's yard...I just don't like domestic animals killing other domestic animals. But I also understand about the inborn prey drive that exists in ALL creatures which fall into the 'predator' category, regardless of domestication, and which Brittany the cat had within her as well. As much as it had to be an awful thing for Brittany the cat's owners to go through, there are people who feel the same way about wild songbirds, which the domestic cats routinely stalk and kill. There are people who feel that way about mice and rats, too, but I'm betting that there would be a chorus of cat lovers defending the cat that killed somebody's pet rat because 'it's only natural, and not the cat's fault'. That Arco has bitten two people who tried to apprehend him does not automatically mean he is 'additionally dangerous to people'; any stranger grabbing at a strange, stressed loose dog is as likely to be bitten as not--there's a reason why animal control officers use catch-poles. That Arco killed a pet bunny and a pet chicken is also something I dislike...but again, how is any predator to distinguish between your pet chicken and the ones being raised for somebody's meal? The fault lies not with the dog, but with the people who failed the dog by not keeping him confined within a fenced yard or on a secure lead at all times. From all reports, Arco has learned to co-exist with cats while in AZ--it is possible to teach a dog that's experienced in killing small animals that it's not acceptable to do so-- and has been good with every person he's been introduced to while there, so I don't believe he is any less worthy of being rescued and adopted than any other dog in need of a home. Yes, it does pain me and most others here that countless nice dogs die each year (and their number DOES include purebred dogs, not just mixed breeds)...so I and many others here do what we can to try and lessen the situation (not just for purebreds, either). Arco's clearly not a dog for a novice or slip-shod, casual dog owner--nor are most large breeds of dogs--so it's logical he'd be placed through a private working-dog rescue instead of a generalized GSD rescue group or a shelter, and experienced handlers are more likely to be found on a site such as this one...hence the interest in him here. I am sorry about Brittany, the bunny and your chicken, however.

I do greatly appreciate your feelings for Ms. Brittany.  And while I do not necessarily disagree with your comments,  I feel that I am the only person who is really not categorizing dogs by breed but by individual animal.  To quote a very good friend of mine who has given her entire life to animal rescue, "There are just some dogs, just like there are some people, who are just NOT right."  Not every single dog out there can be trained, some are simply not right in their heads- it could have been their upbringing, it could be just in their genes-  but dogs are not some magically perfect creature in which every specimine comes out a perfect blank slate who can definately be trained-  even the attractive ones like Arco can be screwed up in the head.  God knows, I've known plently of attractive people who are just messed up in the head and can't be fixed. As humans we are so self centered that we think we can fix and train absolutely anything- when some, domesticated or not- refuse to be trained. Some animals easily accept training (and I look at this as individual animals not as specific breeds) I own a doberman who lives with my remaining cat and a JRT and he knows not to grab and attempt to kill things-  my boxer (who passed of kidney failure two years ago) used to let my chickens  eat out of his bowl-  so saying that all dogs have a kill drive that they cannot ignore is also not true, (some individual dogs cannot ignore it, and those animals just like wild predators, should not be kept as pets)-  I didn't necessarily train my boxer not to bother the chickens, he just knew that his food came from a bowl and those strange feathery creatures weren't his food (although admittedly it was really sweet that he just let the chickens take the food ♥  I miss him)  Anyways, my point is, and I must reiterate-  although the rescue group has "claimed"  that this dog is "just fine" with everyone-  his track record speaks otherwise.  A dog who could not be trained by Capitol Police, or by private owners and then still bit people after being professionally trained by a rescue group is, like I said, just not right in the head.  To say any dog would react this way is silly- thousands of dogs are transported every day without incident, so clearly not "any" dog would behave like this.  I knew this dog personally-  and he's just not all there.

I don't see anything to make me think that dog "isn't right in the head." I see a dog who has obviously been mishandled his entire life. No offense to rescue groups, but most are volunteers and many are not the best working dog trainers. The fact that someone from a rescue group "trained" him and he still bit someone means literally NOTHING to me...and I'm guessing many others. The dog bit strangers...while they were trying to catch him. That is NORMAL behavior. What "isn't right" is this bizarre perception that society has that no dog should ever bite for any reason. I don't know Arco. He might be bat $hi+ crazy. But none of the given reasons tell me that. 

Your answer is a perfect misconception of attractive animals-  you're right, you don't "see" anything wrong.  If the pictures of Arco showed a mangy, slobbering, mongrel of a dog, you would think differently.  But since he's attractive and the physical pictures make him look pretty and a rescue "says" that he's "just fine" then you assume that he is.  But I did know this animal and from the behavior he exibited around me he is "bat sh*t crazy"  as you say.  I've already outlined his track record, and no, no dog that is to be kept as a family domesticated pet should ever bite or kill- that is why there are laws against viscious animals.   My dogs have never bitten anyone- not even strangers- and I don't believe that it is just NORMAL behavior for dogs to bite people they don't know.  I do agree-  this dog was probably mishandled since he was a puppy, but at this point he has killed and maimed- multiple times-  it is better we put a stop to the behavior then wait for it to occur again in an even more severe fashion-  what if a small child scares him and he bites the face of said child?  Yes I know that this could happen with any dog-  but you know as well as anyone that it is more likely to happen with an animal that has already been shown to kill small animals and bite people when scared. 

I think Hexe's post summed it up pretty well.

 I've already outlined his track record, and no, no dog that is to be kept as a family domesticated pet should ever bite or kill- that is why there are laws against viscious animals. My dogs have never bitten anyone- not even strangers- and I don't believe that it is just NORMAL behavior for dogs to bite people they don't know

Well, I do agree that a dog will not be PTS for killing a cat in VA as posted earlier. I disagree with LoveforBrittany's above statement.    It really depends on the temperament, rearing and training of the dog.  I have owned dogs that would absolutely bite a stranger in a variety of situations.  However, the dogs were well trained and under my control.  Not all dogs are lassie or fluffy the poodle.  Although we may appreciate the qualities of Lassie and Fluffy some prefer a bit more  "je ne sais quoi." 

I am sorry that the cat was killed that is tragic.  I am an animal lover and really feel sorry for the cat and it's family. 

JMO.

Jim