Humanity’s best friend detects landmines and explosive remnants of war

SUMMARY: Service dogs are renowned for excelling at tasks. Some serve as “seeing eye” dogs. Others sniff for illicit drugs. Some are trained as “comfort animals.” But the use of trained “mine detecting dogs” (MDDs) to locate landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) is less known. Our most faithful companion’s role in sniffing out these “hidden killers” deserves equal attention. “Since World War I trained ‘war dogs’ have carried messages through battlefields, guided medics to wounded soldiers, and located hidden tunnels,” explains Perry F. Baltimore III, Executive Director of the Marshall Legacy Institute, an American non-profit organization that enlists public support to donate MDDs for use in post-conflict demining and ERW clearance. “In the past two decades or so, methodologies to train dogs to ‘sniff out’ the explosive odors found in landmines has also led to the use of MDDs—canine heroes who have a critical role in humanitarian demining. Their part in saving lives and helping restore war torn land to productive use is beyond measure.”