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CNN Sunday Morning

Number of Calls to Bomb Squads Soar Since September 11

Aired November 18, 2001 - 07:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, business has been up sharply -- the business of bomb-detecting dogs.

CNN's Anne McDermott has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buck is a busy boy.

TOM DOMINGUEZ, BOMB SQUAD: Where is it?

MCDERMOTT: He's a bomb-sniffing dog with California's Orange County Sheriff's Department, their only bomb dog. And since September 11, calls to the bomb squad are up 300 percent. But relief's on the way. Relief called Rocky.

DOMINGUEZ: Good boy! Good boy!

MCDERMOTT: Rocky's in training at Work Dogs International where normally they turn out about 10 bomb dogs a year. Since September 11, though, they're training three times that many. Airports want them. Seaports want them. Celebrities want them. Now, most of the time, the dogs don't find bombs but they do make a lot of people feel better just having them around.

PATRICK BELTZ, OWNER, WORK DOGS INTERNATIONAL: It's a deterrent effect for the would-be terrorist or bomber when they dog teams walking back and forth.

MCDERMOTT: Training here takes about 10 weeks at a cost of $6,000, dogs included and they're trained to sniff out about a dozen different explosives.

BELTZ: This is dynamite.

MCDERMOTT: It's planted, dog finds it, dog sits, is tossed a toy.

DOMINGUEZ: Good boy!

MCDERMOTT: But not every dog can do what Rocky does. It takes a special sniffer and the best are bred in Europe. Rocky's from Holland. This fellow is from Germany.

BELTZ: This is Hoss (ph). His European name was Hurmet (ph).

MCDERMOTT: Shepherds are popular, but the Orange County Sheriff's Department likes Labradors.

(on-camera): Why Labs? The same reason everybody likes them -- because they're cute.

(voice-over): Cute and non-threatening.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Look it, Mommy.

MCDERMOTT: Back at school, Rocky goes through his paces.

DOMINGUEZ: Good boy!

MCDERMOTT: So does his bomb squad mate think the dog could ever be a hero?

DOMINGUEZ: Rocky? I think absolutely! I think Rocky could safe my life. He could save anyone's life.

MCDERMOTT: And maybe someday he will.

DOMINGUEZ: That's a good boy. You're doing good.

MCDERMOTT: Anne McDermott, CNN, Banning, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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