Empty water bowls, feces-covered floors: US knew horrifying plight of bomb-sniffing dogs in Jordan but continued to send them there
An investigation by a U.S federal agency has revealed that even though bomb-sniffing dogs that were sent to Jordon were treated horrifically, they continued to be sent to the country. According to a report from the Office of Inspector General, more than 10 of these dogs died between 2008 to 2016 in Jordan, after suffering from medical problems and those who could make it, were living in "unhealthy conditions".
The report, published last week, said that the dogs were kept in inadequate kennels, were emaciated with protruding ribs and were found with long nails and riddled with large ticks. The photos in the report showed extremely underweight dogs, one of whom was shown to be living in a feces-covered kennel and with an empty water bowl. The investigation, which was conducted for over a year, was launched after a hotline complaint about the animals' plight. Zoe, a two-year-old female Belgian Malinois that arrived in Jordan in October 2016 died of hyperthermia in July 2017 and was partly due to a untrained handler being assigned to her. Mencey, a three-year-old male Belgian Malinois became severely ill less than one year after his arrival. In February 2018, she was diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, following which she suffered a renal failure and had to be euthanized. Athena, another two-year-old female Belgian Malinois was severely emaciated less than a year after being shipped off to Jordan and her kennel was covered in dirt and feces.
As a part of the Explosive Detection Canine Program that was started over 20 years ago, the US has been providing specially trained dogs to foreign partner nations, out of which Jordan received the most dogs, totaling 89. The report found that there are no effective mechanisms in place to ensure the management of the dogs' health and welfare. "Mentors identified 25 dogs in 2017, and three additional ATF dogs later, and said that 'most are at the age of retirement but they all look in good health'; however, an April 2016 CVC visit observed dogs dying of disease and heat-related illness, dogs with hip dysplasia, inadequate kennels, overworked dogs, and 'barely existent' kennel sanitation," the report states.
Concerns had been brought up in April 2016, when US canine training staff visited Jordan for a welfare check and said that death rates were high and there was a lack of medical care for the dogs. However, the program continued to be funded and more dogs were shipped to the country.