Free Republic

A FEARLESS four-legged recruit joined US Special Forces as they stormed Osama Bin Laden's secret lair. The explosive-sniffing dog was strapped to an assault team member as they took on one of their greatest challenges to date. He was part of the operation in which the elite US Navy Seals lowered themselves down ropes from three Black Hawk helicopters into the terrorist supremo's hideout in the town of Abbottabad, Pakistan, on Sunday. [Snip] Heavily armoured hounds — equipped with infrared night-sight cameras — have been used in the past by the top-secret unit. Wearing oxygen masks, the pooches have...

Russians breed superdog with a jackal's nose for bombs and drugs By Ben Aris in Moscow (Filed: 15/12/2002) Part Siberian husky, part Turkmen jackal - a super sniffer dog with an enhanced sense of smell was unleashed last week by the Russian airline Aeroflot in its fight against terrorists and drug smugglers. The animals are the product of a Russian scientific research project, launched 27 years ago, to produce the ultimate sniffer dog. Their breeders claim that they are much more effective than the labradors or alsatians that are more commonly used in the West. A name for the new...