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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Bomb-sniffing dog is more than best friend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Curtis Compton/AJC
Forward Operating Base St. Michael — He’s found hidden weapons caches, searched thousands of suspicious cars and provided security for visiting dignitaries and his only reward is an old tennis ball.
Nero, a 2-year-old German Shepherd with a black face and brilliant white teeth, is trained to find hidden explosives. Along with his handler, Nero goes “outside the wire” daily to search fields, houses, cars and roads around the city of Mahmudiyah.
“Dogs have been my passion ever since I was a kid,” said Mike Sapp, 32, a civilian employee for K-9 Associates International, an Illinois firm with more than 100 bomb dogs in Iraq. “Nero has found (rocket-propelled grenades), rifle grenades and AK-47s — and he’s only been here a month.”
Sapp’s previous dog, Egon, another German Shepherd, left Iraq after a year because he was overworked and over-stressed.
“The environment is just too much after a certain amount of time,” said Sapp, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division during the first Gulf War. “The IEDs, mortars, artillery, tanks and helicopters constantly flying over just wears dogs out. We send them back to the states where they can work for police departments or other agencies in a less stressful place.”
Nero came from the Czech Republic, learned his craft in Illinois and got a few weeks of Iraq-specific training before starting work here. He travels from one U.S. base to another depending on military demand and takes commands in Dutch.
Demand for bomb dogs has surged since 9/11, and a fully-trained animal like Nero sells for about $20,000.
“Everyone who was training drug dogs is now training bomb dogs,” said Sapp, who has been here four months. “We can’t get enough of them.”
Sapp, a former police officer in his home state of Michigan, works 120 days at a time here, then gets three weeks off. He expects to earn a little more than $120,000 this year as a contractor.
“We’ve been told that the bad guys are offering $250,000 for anyone who kills a bomb dog and his handler,” he said. “But this is my perfect job. I get to work with explosives dogs all day, every day. I get along great with the soldiers, and they appreciate the work we do.”
Sapp described Nero as mellow for a German Shepherd and said he’s a patient, methodical worker. Insurgents have tried to disguise hidden explosives by covering caches with manure, chemicals or other strong-smelling items — but Sapp said it doesn’t work.
“Humans smell beef stew,” he said, “but dogs smell peas, corn, beef and onions. They don’t get fooled.”
When Nero finds hidden weapons, he simply sits down. His reward is a game of fetch with a tennis ball.
“He gets the ball and some praise from me,” Sapp said. “He’s like my kid. To me he’s perfect.”
