About Pups for Peace

The idea for Pups for Peace was born in early April 2002 in the wake of the Passover massacre at the Park Hotel in the seaside resort town of Netanya, Israel. In the months since then, the program has gone from an idea to a reality welcomed by the highest echelons of Israeli security. It has also received the attention of the stewards of the global war against terrorism in the US.

Our successful pilot projects demonstrated that the Pups for Peace concept is practical. Planning then began to establish a capability to train and deploy a large force of explosive-detection dogs in Israel to protect civilians from terrorist attacks.

The initial pilot was with the IDF, concluding successfully in the Fall 2002 with PFP's first dogs going to Israel. In April 2003, our new facility in Israel received its first dogs. In May, the first civilian pilot project began at the Netanya bus station, in association with Egged Bus and the Transportation Ministry. By early July, our first civilian pilot had been declared a resounding success. Egged requested dogs and training for bus stations across Israel as soon as possible. Other civilian applications are now in development and it is clear that the dogs and handlers are urgently needed.

Now we've moved beyond the pilot program, and a substantial expansion of the program is in progress. In addition to the training camp facility we built and operate in northern Israel, we are establishing a handler training camp in the central part of the country. We will deploy dog and handler teams within Israel. Expansion also involves continued purchase and training of dogs and the orientation and training of dog trainers and dog/handler teams.

The Pups for Peace plan entails the training of roughly 300 dogs per year for 3 years. The production methodology has been proved and a sound operational capability is in place. The funding required for this level of production has been budgeted at $2.7 million per year, for 3 years. This includes all cost of operations, capital expenditures, and, of course, dog acquisition.