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Recent News
US Pups for Peace sending bomb-sniffing dogs
September 1, 2002
NEW YORK -- Pups for Peace, an organization founded by US Jews and the Israeli-based Golan Fund to help Israel defend itself against suicide attacks, announced on Thursday that it plans to provide 1,000 trained dogs capable of detecting explosives to the Israel Police and the IDF by 2004.
The organization, which held a fundraising luncheon on Thursday chaired by Gov. George Pataki, is currently training its first 60 dogs, along with 20 Israeli trainers, in a two-month bomb detection course at a facility in Los Angeles. The dogs are scheduled to fly to Israel in October for an additional 30-day training program in the Golan Heights, after which they'll be deployed to sites throughout the country, including supermarkets, sports events, and discos.
The dogs are trained to locate an explosives source and indicate the find to its handler, after which the military or police takes over to prevent an explosion, said the group's director of canine operations, Mike Herstik. He noted that the dogs are not trained to physically engage a suspected bomber, and that to date, just two dogs have been killed while searching for explosives in Israel.
At the luncheon, the organization's founders named a four-year old Labrador after Pataki to thank him for his support. The dog, which was originally named Nitro, will now be know as Gershon, a Hebraicized version of George.
"I am delighted that this pup, that will help ensure peace in Israel, has been named after me," said Pataki.
He praised the group's founders, who include Herstik, Los Angeles-based economist Glenn Yago, and the head of the Golan Fund, Ronnie Lotan, for helping Israelis by boosting the state's security measures.
"We support the people and the State of Israel, not by building bombs and taking lives, but by trying to provide security and hope," said Pataki.
Training 1,000 dogs is expected to cost $6 million - $8 million, and Herstik noted that the group still needs to raise funds to train its second group of 150 dogs, which are slated to start their training course in November.
