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"Would Be Bomber Turned Back Just Before Blowing Up Cafe"

 July 17, 2004

When we read this headline in the newspaper and the phones started ringing from Israel, our hearts stopped at Pups for Peace (PFP). We knew that detection dogs and handlers we’d helped trained worked in the Israel Defense Forces and in Israel Police, now we had direct evidence from the security forces that Pups for Peace had become a key security asset for front-line civilian defense as well on the streets of our beloved Jerusalem.

Wednesday, July 14 began like any other day for PFP handler Vadim Kolikow.  In the field with his dogs Heide and Moshe Herzl, Vadim was patrolling the area near Davidka Square, not far from the Machane Yehuda open-air market in Jerusalem.   Suddenly he and his dogs were called to respond to a threat on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony, the bustling West Jerusalem neighborhood dotted with trendy cafes and shops and, of course, people.  At home at the time was Shai, another PFP handler.  As Vadim and his tea‎m were making their way across town, Shai was also directed to the same location after the receipt of orders from the Police.  He brought with him Mira and Ruby.  The teams were quitely dispatched by police and public tranpsortation security authorities to search the bus stops and sidewalks along the busy street.

As anticipated, both deterrence and detection objectives can and were met when a Hamas man intending to shoot his way into Caffit, a popular Jersualem cafe and then detonate a suicide bomb, stood before the popular restaurant wearing a gun and an explosive belt, then reconsidered.

While the specifics of precisely how Ruby, Moshe Herzl, Heide and Mira (along with their handlers) did their job and what happened cannot be disclosed for security reasons, this incident proved that trainers, handlers, and dogs---along with their security force counterparts—work together to deter attacks.
 

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