By Sarah Acosta, The Smithville Times

A local man has opened his home to a very special puppy.

Rosanky resident Jim Rose recently took advantage of a program offered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration Canine Breeding and Development Center, also known as the TSA Puppy Program.    The program prepares dogs to sniff out explosives and foster families care for the puppies until they are old enough to begin training.

“I was an Air Force Fire Fighter and my whole life was about the serving the country and by doing this it is a way for me to continue to give back to the people of this country,” Rose said when asked why he is participating in the program.

Rose adopted his puppy in February who was named Sandra Foster, to honor a woman who died in the 9/11 attacks. Foster is a Labrador Retriever who is now 10 months old and will be returning to the TSA Academy for training in the next two months.

Rose has two other Labradors at home and Foster gets along great with them.

“When I first got her she was very energetic and quite a handful,” Rose said. “Now that I look back at it I smile because I will remember all the good times we have had together and I know that she will be used for the well-being of others in the future.”

Foster is special because her father, Bart, is from the Australian Customs Service National Breeding and Development Centre that has produced more than 900 dogs and continues to achieve successful training rates on more than 50 percent of their dogs breed.

“The trainers think that she is an awesome working dog for the TSA program,” Rose said.

The program was developed in 1999 in the footsteps of the NBDC which provided two adult males and six adult females to initiate the breeding process. The puppies are selectively bred, raised and prepared for a future of sniffing out explosives in airport lounges, cargo containers, train stations, passenger planes and even on to provide security for Air Force One.

Since the first breeding in January 2002, the program has produced more than 548 puppies with an expected average of 200 puppies a year for use at the National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program, along with state and federal agencies in need of service dogs.

Every TSA puppy is named after one of the 3,000 people who died during the 9/11 attacks and upon request, named after Iraqi soldiers lost in combat. Dolan, named after Navy Cpt. Bob Dolan who died during the attacks on the Pentagon, is the 500th puppy born in the program and was featured on the Today Show. Widow Lisa Dolan was given the opportunity to meet the puppy on the show and was reportedly brought to tears of joy in his presence.

The program is located at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio and all foster families must live in the San Antonio, Austin or surrounding local areas. If approved, after being screened and interviewed at their home, those that are interested in participating in this program will receive a puppy at 10 weeks old.

These foster families are commonly known as “puppywalkers” and the puppies will be returned to TSA after approximately one year of age. They are required to return the puppy to the TSA office once a month for a week of minor training and to check for medical and behavioral issues.

Following the puppies return to TSA they will begin intense training in bomb detection. “We breed dogs, place them in foster homes until they’re one, then train them for explosives detecting for the federal government, state agencies and more,” said Rebecca Rainer, outreach representative for the program. “From airports to ferry terminals, rail stations to the border, these dogs help save lives.”

According to the National Explosives Detection Canine Team, the dogs are trained by the TSA Support Branch using a conditioning model called “operant conditioning” – a reward-based training technique where the dogs are trained to “indicate or respond” to the scent of explosives and then receive a reward such as a ball, toy or even food. To alert the handler, these dogs either “increase or decrease their pace or sniffing behavior and sit at the location” of the identified scent.

“The things that we are looking for is that the dog is environmentally bold, which is a dog that can go to any new environment and act like he has lived there his whole life. The secondary thing that we are looking for is their desire to find and possess their favorite toy,” said Scott Thomas, program manager.

The puppies that don’t make it through the training process are placed with loving families for adoption or given to Texas Highway Patrol, U.S. Customs, Border Patrol and the Department of Defense for other uses.

“The problem is we have to keep enough genetic diversity within what we are still breeding to produce healthy dogs that will qualify for the selective process to become a future explosive detective dog,” Thomas said.

The trainers prefer Labs because of their disposition, their love for hide and seek and their incredible noses. Other dogs bred for the program are Vizslas, because of their “keen noses and affinity” for this type of work.

“These dogs are being raised in the Austin and San Antonio-areas by loving families who are doing their part to fight terrorism,” said Rainer. “We have two litters of puppies who will be needing foster homes by the first of the year and there are a few puppies ready right now for placement.”

If you are interested in becoming a “puppywalker,” visit www.tsa.gov search for “Puppy” and fill out a foster application.

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