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Recent News
Sniffer dogs sought to boost defence in Israel
TORONTO -- Mike Freedland is hoping Israel goes to the dogs. More accurately, Freedland wants Canadians to help provide Israel with a simple, innovative and relatively inexpensive way of bolstering its civilian defence.
The 41-year-old Toronto software salesman is the new Canadian campaign chair of Pups for Peace, a non-profit group that buys, trains and deploys explosive-sniffing dogs throughout the Jewish state.
"It's something many people wouldn't think of, but sniffer dogs are very effective," says Freedland. "Rather than watch terrorist atrocities on television, we now have a practical and easy way to help right here in Canada."
Pups for Peace was founded a year ago, in the wake of the Passover massacre at a hotel in the seaside resort of Netanya, in which a Palestinian suicide bomber murdered 21 people attending a family seder, and injured over 100. Since then, more than 900 donors in several countries have contributed $1 million (US) to the group. There are currently between 200 and 300 trained sniffer dogs deployed throughout Israel, and the goal is to add 1,000 more in the coming year.
Supporters say the animals aren't intended to stop terrorist attacks, only to save innocent lives. Freedland says the dogs are deployed in public places, such as crowded markets, bus stops, shops--anywhere a terrorist might strike.
Israel already has bomb-sniffing dogs in military and police units, but as terrorist threats increase, so too does the need for creative approaches to preventing attacks. The idea behind this effort is that strategic deployment of dogs and handlers could prevent some attacks, reduce the extent of others, and ultimately save lives, Freedland explains.
Each dog and handler team costs about $10,000 (US) to deploy, including the purchase price, veterinary care, kennel costs, travel and related expenses. The training period is three months.
The Canadian launch kicked off this month with the Pups for Peace Mitzva Challenge, which calls on individuals, schools, synagogues and companies to raise funds. Any group or individual that raises the amount needed for one dog and handler team will be allowed to name "its" animal and will receive a photo and a copy of the canine's graduation diploma. The Canadian committee is composed of a core group of eight volunteers to date.
The dogs, limited to certain high-energy breeds, can be purchased in North America. Over the past year, the group has built a 60-dog training facility in the Los Angeles area, and another at an army base in the Golan Heights. The first pilot project graduated 16 dogs from the California facility last October, trained by Israeli handlers. It's all done with the blessing of local police, private security companies and the Israel Defence Forces' canine unit (Oketz), which has co-ordinated dog-buying trips to Europe with Pups for Peace.
For details, call 1-800-669-8930 or write pupscan@yahoo.com.
