Beagles are also among America’s top 10 favorite breeds of dogs according to the American Kennel Club (AKC.org). They are very intelligent, high spirited, and sometimes very vocal dogs. Famous beagle dogs include the cartoon character, Peanuts “Snoopy”, Garfield’s friend, “Odie”, “Gromit” of Gromit and Wallace,”Mr. Peabody” (from Rocky and Bullwinkle) “Lou” from the movie “Cats and Dogs” and, of course, “UnderDog”.
Besides being in cartoons and movies, Beagles do play an important role with Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture. As reported in Urban Paws Magazine (www.urbanpawsmagazine.com), the “Beagle Brigade” is a team of Beagles that has made an estimated 75,000 seizures a year of prohibited items while working at airports, borders, ports, post offices, and international shipping companies inspecting luggage and packages.
The Beagles sharp sense of smell helps it tell the difference between illegal and legal items and will alert the handler when they find the prohibited items. “Sophia”(pictured to the right) is a Beagle from Houston that made the Beagle Brigade and you can read more about her story in this months urbanpawsmagazine.
So, next time you go through the airport and spot a beagle sporting a navy blue vest, they may just belong to the “Beagle Brigade”
