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Electronics-Sniffing Black Lab Helped Bust Jared Fogle

Former Subway spokesmonster Jared Fogle, as you’ve probably heard, was taken into custody earlier this week for paying for sex with minors and possessing child pornography. Incriminating evidence discovered by a 2-year-old Black Lab named Bear helped lead to Fogle’s arrest.

Bear is currently one of only four dogs in the United States trained to sniff out electronic media storage devices such as computers, iPads and memory cards.

After the FBI raided Fogle’s house in Zionsville, Ind., last month, Bear was summoned to do his job.

“I had no idea until that morning of what house I was actually going to,” his trainer, Todd Jordan, told WISH. “Once I found out who it was, yeah, it makes a little more nerve-racking for us.”

Bear discovered a hidden flash drive in Fogle’s house that was “vital to the investigation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Debrota told RTV6.

This was Bear’s fifth investigation for the Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force. Jordan told FOX59 last month that electronics detection dogs like Bear are especially helpful in child pornography investigations.

“You think about investigators going into a house and trying to find a micro SD card that is as big as a fingernail. It will take investigators hours, especially if someone is trying to hide it,” he said.

Bear was “one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever worked with,” Jordan told WISH. He trained Bear to detect electronic media storage devices a year ago. The process took about four months.

“It’s just like any other K-9 training, like with the narcotics or explosives or anything,” Jordan said. “You get the dog used to the odor and reward them as they indicate on it.”

When Bear finds something, he sits next to it. Jordan rewards him with a treat from a pouch he keeps in his pocket.

Jordan’s days of working with Bear have come to an end, however. Bear recently moved to Seattle to join its police department.

“It’ll be bittersweet,” Jordan told WISH. “It’s sad to see him go, but the type of work he’s doing, it’s very rewarding.”

Jordan is now training two more dogs to detect electronic media storage devices. Hopefully they will follow in Bear’s footsteps and help bust more child predators.

Photos via Twitter

Black Lab Attacks Tucson Boy and His Pit Bull

Last week in a Tucson neighborhood, as a 14-year-old boy on a skateboard was being pulled along a sidewalk by his leashed Pit Bull, a teenage girl across the street was trying to walk her black Lab, but having difficulty keeping him under control.

The moment the Lab saw the Pit Bull, he broke free and started biting the boy and his dog. The boy suffered eight puncture wounds on his fingers and hands, according to Tucson News Now, which didn’t mention the Pit Bull’s condition.

“I think if a dog is mean enough to break a leash, break free from a leash and attack another dog while walking with a kid…I don’t know,” Zack Marcus, the boy’s dad, told Tucson News Now. “I love dogs, but that’s a bad dog.”

When police officers finally arrived, Marcus said they were more interested in what the Lab’s owner had to say about the incident. Fortunately a surveillance camera on a nearby house captured the entire attack. The Lab can be seen being pulled away by his back legs, his teeth still clamped on the Pit Bull’s face.

“To me that screams education and responsible pet ownership,” Justin Gallick of the Pima Animal Care Center told Tucson News Now. “From my understanding, a pet was being walked by somebody that’s underage and maybe didn’t have the physical capacity to walk such a dog.”

The Lab was taken away by animal control and is under a rabies quarantine for 10 days. He will be given a dangerous dog evaluation. If he is found to be dangerous, he and his owner may have to comply with strict confinement, licensing and insurance requirements. If the owner can’t meet those requirements, the Lab could be euthanized.

The story by Tucson News Now, one of the only news sources reporting the incident, starts with this:

“A local dog attack involving a pit bull – but this incident doesn’t start or end the way one might think.”

Oh, because based on negative stereotypes, one might think the Pit Bull was the aggressor?

The headline reads, “Local boy, pit bull attacked by neighbor’s dog,” not bothering to mention the breed of the attacking dog. But Tucson News Now does deserve props for covering the story at all.

“I have Pit Bulls, big ones,” Marcus said. “And we get the bad rap because of the Pit Bull. My dog’s never done that.”

Pedigree Says ‘Wire’ in Its Dog Food Just Natural Fiber Like Pig Hair

Over the past couple of days, hundreds of complaints about wire-like objects sticking out of Pedigree dry dog food have flooded the company’s Facebook page and other social media accounts.

“My dog’s food is filled with random pieces of hard plastic wiring, and I’m almost positive that it’s completely destroying my dog’s stomach as he has been sick all week,” wrote Devin Giddins on Facebook.

Pedigree, which is owned by Mars Petcare U.S., responded to Giddins exactly as it has to every other complaint:

“We understand your concern, as product quality and safety for pets is our first priority. We have conducted testing on the affected kibble and determined these are naturally-occurring fibers from meat and bone meal, like pig hair, and are completely safe for your dog to consume.”

In a statement to newsnet5.com, Kaycie Williams, senior manager of corporate communications for Mars Petcare, said the same thing.

“Because Pedigree is manufactured using meat and bone meal, it’s possible for natural fibers, like pig hair, to appear in the finished kibble,” she said. “There is absolutely no quality or safety concern with the natural fibers. They are completely safe for dogs to consume.”

Kimberly Whitman Duesing doesn’t believe this. “There is no way they are ‘hairs,'” she wrote on Facebook. “I tried to touch one and it stuck me like a piece of hard plastic would! You need to recall this food ASAP!”

Like Giddins, several pet parents said their dogs became sick after eating the food.

“My dog has been feeling sick and not eating,” wrote Missie Carter, who posted the photo above on Facebook. “Couldn’t find anything wrong until this morning making his breakfast. I noticed what I thought was a hair and went to pull it out and was surprised it was a wire inmbedded in the grain.”

Krystle Fayek told newsnet5.com her English Mastiffs became ill after eating the food. She asked her vet, Dr. Martti Putkoneon, to examine the kibble under a microscope.

“I saw what appears to be a hair of some kind,” Dr. Putkoneon told newsnet5.com, adding that he wasn’t completely certain.

Coincidentally, in August 2014, Pedigree voluntarily recalled some of its Adult Complete Nutrition dry dog food products because the bags may have contained pieces of metal. “While the small metal fragments are not embedded in the food itself, [they] may present a risk of injury if consumed,” Mars Petcare stated at the time.

Should you find any wiry “natural fibers” in Pedigree dog food, call the company at 800-525-5273 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time.

It’s also a good idea to report the problem to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Photos via Facebook; Facebook

Loser Who Killed Dog with Firecracker Goes to Jail for a Day

NOV. 25, 2015 UPDATE: Nicholas Garcia pleaded guilty today to causing the death of his neighbor’s Pit Bull with a firecracker, the Herald-News reports. He was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of criminal damage to property (not animal cruelty). He must then serve an additional year for reckless discharge of a firearm. He will be eligible for parole in August 2017.

On July 7, Nicholas Garcia of Joliet, Ill., threw lit firecrackers at his neighbor’s Pit Bull, named America. As the neighbors watched in horror, America picked up one of the firecrackers in his mouth.

“It blew off the animal’s jaw,” Deputy Police Chief Ed Gregory told the Herald-News. America had to be euthanized.

Surprisingly, Garcia was not charged for animal cruelty, but for felony damage to property, along with two misdemeanor counts.

He finally turned himself in July 24. He paid his bail and was free to go.

On Aug. 8, barely a month after killing America, Garcia was pulled over by Joliet police after blowing through a stop sign. The officers found illegal fireworks — a mortar and two packages of “Nitro Bombs” — in the trunk of his car, according to the Herald-News. There were also three baggies of marijuana inside the car.

Garcia was charged with possession of fireworks, possession of marijuana and the traffic violations. He was released on his own recognizance.

In a court appearance today, Garcia became “visibly agitated” when he was taken into custody after Judge Daniel Rozak granted the prosecutor’s request to add a $25,000 bond due to the August arrest, the Herald-News reports.

Garcia’s attorney, Cosmo Tedone, who actually referred to himself an animal lover, insisted his client meant no harm to America.

“The dog got out and chased it, but there was no intent to hurt the animal and no charge of animal cruelty,” he said, according to the Herald-News.

Really? How could Garcia not know exactly what the horrible outcome would be when he was throwing lit firecrackers at the dog?

Garcia didn’t have much reason to be agitated. After spending less than seven hours in jail, he was released on $2,500 bail, the Shorewood Patch reports. He’s scheduled to appear in court again next month.

The Will County state’s attorney’s office filed “the strongest [property damage] felony charge possible under Illinois law,” according to a statement regarding the case. If he’s convicted, Garcia faces up to six years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.

In 1999, State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow authored a statute that made the abuse of an animal a felony for the first time in Illinois history.

It’s unfortunate his office did not file the strongest animal cruelty charge possible in Garcia’s case. “When or if additional evidence becomes available, the state’s attorney’s office will review the case and give all due consideration to filing additional charges,” the statement said.

An online petition urging Garcia to be charged with animal cruelty has more than 119,000 signatures as of Aug. 17.

Photo via Patch.com

Two Cancer-Sniffing Dogs to Join UC Davis Medical Staff

Early detection of cancer — the second leading cause of death for people in the United States — gives patients the best chance of survival. Unfortunately, many of the screening methods available today detect cancer at later stages, when treatment is less effective.

Fortunately, in the very near future, dogs and their extraordinary senses of smell will help develop ways to detect cancer in its earliest stages.

Dogs have been trained to detect breast, lung, ovarian, prostate, thyroid and other cancers, all with amazing accuracy: 98 percent for both breast and prostate cancer, for example. Even untrained dogs have been able to sniff out their dog moms’ breast cancer and dog dad’s brain and skin cancers.

For the first time ever in the U.K., it was announced earlier this month that a clinical trial is using dogs to sniff out prostate cancer.

And for the first time ever in the U.S., it was announced at a news conference today that dogs trained in the ability to sniff out cancer will be using those skills by working with the medical staff at the University of California, Davis.

“For the past number of years, we have been developing very high-end, expensive new tests to try and detect the presence of cancer,” said Ralph de Vere White, director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a news release.

“Dogs have been doing this, detecting disease in the urine of people suspected of having bladder cancer, for example. This work marries sophisticated technology with low-tech, yet sophisticated, dogs’ noses to see if they can help us identify the molecules that differentiate cancer from non-cancer.”

In a year-long training program, two 4-month-old puppies — Alfie, a Labradoodle, and Charlie, a German Shepherd — are working with doctors, veterinarians and animal behavior specialists to develop their abilities to identify the scent of human cancer in saliva, breath and urine samples.

Dina Zaphiris, director of the InSitu Foundation, a nonprofit that trains dogs to detect cancer, is training Alfie and Charlie. She has already trained more than two dozen dogs to detect the disease. Almost any dog can be trained to detect cancer, she said, but she prefers to work with German Shepherds, Labradors, Poodles and herding breeds, “because of their work ethic.”

Alfie and Charlie’s cancer screening work will start early next year with a clinical trial to establish the effectiveness of this new approach.

“Despite all the advances of modern medicine, we still can’t reliably detect many types of cancers in their early stages,” said Peter Belafsky, a professor of otolaryngology who frequently deals with cases of advanced cancer.

“Our new canine colleagues represent a unique weapon in the battle against cancer. It’s the first of its kind at UC Davis, and the dogs’ incredible talent for scent detection could offer us humans a real jump on diagnosing cancer much earlier and thus save many more lives.”

Photo: UC Davis Health System