Story by Oklahoma Pork's Matti Carlile
Meet Ozcar! Ozcar, also known as Oz, is a member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Beagle Brigade. He and his handler, Sari Hall, attended World Pork Expo to showcase their important work protecting the U.S. swine herd. Although there are several smells at WPX, Hall explained Oz knows when he’s working and when he’s not on duty. When he wasn’t doing a demonstration, Oz stayed close to his handler sitting patiently and enjoyed the kids petting him. However, during the demonstration, Oz was ready to show off his skills. He found an apple and a meat stick amidst a line of packed luggage . So far in his career, Oz has found plants, fruit, vegetables and meat. His most recent find at the airport was a load of sapling trees.
The Beagle Brigade is made of over 100 dogs that work across ports of entry throughout the United States. These dogs are mainly beagle mixes. They like to use beagles in airports because they aren’t intimidating, plus these pups famously have an excellent sense of smell. A person would likely see a member of the Beagle Brigade coming back from an international trip. If you were looking specifically for Oz and Hall, you can typically find them at one of the Chicago airports.
Their job is to find illegal agriculture products. They are trained to sniff out five to six scents depending on their assigned location. The five scents are apple, mango, citrus, pork and beef. When they smell one of those scents that should not be in a traveler’s luggage, they simply sit. The handler can say “show me” and the dog will put their nose on the location of the scent they picked up. To get this impressive job, the beagles go through extensive training that lasts up to 13 weeks. Each beagle is paired with a handler who has a complementary personality. Hall would describe both her and Oz’s personalities as “chill.”
A typical work week for the Beagle Brigade teams ranges from three to five days sniffing thousands of bags and packages. They work in one hour increments so Oz doesn’t get too overwhelmed with smells. He is almost five years old, so just over halfway through his career. The dogs normally retire around nine years of age, and Hall plans to adopt Oz when that time comes.
The Beagle Brigade is able to detect things technology cannot. Programs like this help keep the United States soil free of diseases like African Swine Fever (ASF). As Hall and Oz’s vests say,“Protecting American Agriculture” is their duty. Click here to meet others in the Beagle Brigade,or learn more about The Beagle Brigade Act here.