Paws on Patrol
Alert, with high energy and the desire to work, it’s is in their dna and with a sense of smell unlike any other.
This isn’t your typical border patrol agent. Meet Kirpy, a 5-year old Belgian Malinois that started training when he was just a puppy to become a detection dog.
“What we have is German shepherds and Belgian Malinois. We pick these breeds because their working breeds. They’re working dogs, so they have the prerequisite drive to perform the job we are looking for, that we want them to do,” said border patrol k9 handler Rolando Carbajal.
By Kirpy’s side is border patrol agent Rolando Carbajal who has over 10 years years of K9 handling experience under his belt. Kirpy is agent Carbajal’s right hand man, working together everyday to keep our county safe.
Are you ready to see Kirpy work? Yeah I’m excited!
When a detection dog is working, its the handlers job to recognize when their canine has detected something also known as “Source odor”. The indication could be as simple as intense sniffing in one specific area or a little less obvious like a certain head turn or tail wag.
“So I’m assigned to either one of the checkpoints. We have a few here in Yuma sector. So my day to day is, ill go out to the checkpoint and work him,” said Carbajal.
Now whats so fascinating about these dogs is their sense of smell. For instance, when humans smell a cake, we smell the entire cake…. But with dogs they smell the butter. The sugar. The frosting and the flour,” Madison Kimbro, reporting.
Kirpy along with other detection dogs are trained in other countries and brought over to the U.S.
“The dog will come here to the facility. We conduct maintenance training and that’s the time the dogs gets put on all the odors. Which is cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana,” said Carbajal.
While many people would think that this type of work could be draining for an animal, the dogs typically aren’t out for long periods of time, taking breaks quite often and even more so in the summertime.
“When he comes to work this is fun. Work for him is fun. You’ll see his little tail wag, his ears come up. He’s having a blast. It’s a good time for him and that’s what he actually works for. He works for the actual reward, that’s his paycheck.”
When Kirpy gets to the age of retirement, his life will change from detection dog to a regular pet.
“As long as they stay healthy, we work them all the way up to six to eight years of age. At that point we retire the dog, because we want the dog to have some type of quality of life at home. So we want the dog to actually enjoy his life after retirement. ”
When I asked agent Carbajal what kind of person it takes to become a handler, its apparent the bond between him and Kirpy is undeniable.
“You spend all day with this dog. All shift. Carrying for it and then once your off, you go home.. You still have to care for the dog. You have to be a dog lover to actually want to do this job. You spend more time with this dog then anybody else. So for you to do this, you need to be committed.”
Agent Carbajal already has one retired detection dog at home who he worked for 5 years. He has worked with Kirpy since he was a puppy and while he is used as a tool in finding concealed people and narcotics, it’s obvious the bond Kirpy and agent Carbajal have goes beyond work. A bond that your typical onlooker wouldn’t be able to see while driving through a checkpoint.
