Selects: How the Beagle Brigade Works | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

howdy everyone it's Chuck here on. Saturday I thought I would brighten. everybody's day with this selection from. June 13th 2017 how the Beagle Brigade. works oh boy just get ready for Cute. Overload welcome to stuff you should. know a production of iHeart. [Music]. Radio hey and welcome welcome to the.

podcast I'm Josh KARK there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant Jerry Jerome Rolland over. there so this is stuff you should know. the Beagle Brigade. [Music]. Edition yes. another I guess we covered. uh drug. sniffers yeah but not or did we do. seeing eye dogs as well we did uh. remember cuz seeing eye dogs is actually.

a brand name it's one of those uh oh. like a Band-Aid yeah or Kleenex or. something that one was that was a great. one yeah so I mean is this the last job. that dogs have we we didn't cover dogs. that serve as pack animals yet so oh. that's right yeah like herders yeah. that'd be good or Lumberjack dogs oh. that's true that's right or uh dogs uh. that are uh Sue chefs right so yeah. we've got a big big long sweet coming I.

thought it was done sorry no no but this. one might be the most adorable of all of. them yeah and this one was uh I was. always confused I always thought the. beagles at the airport because as you. will learn uh Atlanta is uh they're. they're trained here outside of Atlanta. MH but I thought that that the beagles. were I just thought they were drug. sniffers or bomb sniffers they. everything sniffers oh I see.

you could have a big old suitcase full. of cocaine and walk right past that dog. and be like jump well that's good to. know you know sure for the next time. you're smuggling cocaine in a case yeah. once you once you make a pest of beagle. you're home free but don't have a head. of. lettuce no because those beagles will. pounce on your neck and chew your throat. out or what they're trained to do don't. have a whole. hog can you believe that story totally. so this one was uh I think it was in.

Atlanta at Hartsfield Jackson Airport. yeah and there was a woman traveling. from Peru to the United States with a a. roasted pig an entire roasted pig in her. bag and I mean it was very sweet you. know she was just trying to bring home a. holiday meal for her family yeah it was. Thanksgiving I think right yeah so she. smuggled in a roasted pig yeah and it. wasn't a little little you know it was.

big well yeah pigs tend to be I mean it. didn't say a suckling pig it a pig I. assumed it was a big old Pig oh it was a. picture of it oh yeah that's right but. it was it was a good siiz pig yeah the. guy Rob brizzle uh public affairs. officer said the right steps had to be. taken to confiscate and destroy the item. and then the sentence stop but I imagine. he said with our mouths right with with. extreme Vengeance so anyway I mean. that's just one example yeah we should.

we should probably say exactly what. we're talking about for those people who. haven't been to an international airport. in the United States but there is a. group of working dogs that are. exclusively beagles hence the name the. Beagle Brigade from what I understand. although I did see reference that they. do use Labs sometimes but I'm pretty. sure it's almost exclusively beagles. it's not exclusively beagles and these. dogs have a job they're actually federal. agents which the uh USDA yeah the.

Department of Agriculture not the FDA no. uh or not the DEA either but they're. feder they're federal agents and they. are their whole job is to sniff out. agricultural products um and the whole. point of all of this is that the US um. has a pretty extensive. agriculture infrastructure right yeah. and if something comes through say. that's a um.

a pest right like a a bug that eats um. what do we grow here cotton a cotton. Weevil yeah but but from another country. right uh so a non-native pest or a. non-native plant or a. diseased. bat okay it could wreak havoc not just. on our agriculture system but if if the. wrong kind of thing comes through like. there's there's procedures in place for. for food to come in the United States. you're not supposed to carry it in your.

luggage because it has to be inspected. it has to come from a trusted Source we. have to know that it doesn't have. something like hoofy math disease or. Ebola or something like that right yeah. I mean it says in here in our own. article that it's a one trillion dollar. industry our own agricultural uh. Agricultural Product Industry right and. that's import export eating it producing. it um and invasive species can be 100 it.

says about $1 136 billion in. agricultural lost Revenue um is that. annually I believe so man so I mean. that's that's a a lot of economy at. stake here so they take it very. seriously right so there's this group um. so the USDA the Department of. Agriculture here in the US um is has a. subgroup called Aus which is the um. animal plant animal and plant health. inspection service and they're the ones.

who are tasked with basically creating. this virtual border this virtual barrier. um to stuff coming in the US to protect. agriculture in the US right yeah like. the the notorious Romanian cotton Weevil. right ex exactly the most Insidious of. all and specifically at international. airports working in conjunction with the. Customs uh Bureau cpb customs in no CBP.

right customs in Border Patrol yeah. you've got these cute adorable little. beagles who are trained to sniff this. stuff out from people who are trying to. smuggle whole pigs into the into the. country when they're not supposed to God. bless that lady I felt bad for. her you know yeah I mean I get it sure. but you know money there's no way she. did not cry oh when when the agriculture. inspector took her whole pig I know is's. going to feed to her family what a waste.

of food she works so hard on that Chuck. I. know it might have been like her. favorite family pig that she was waiting. right it was babe babe gave his. life uh so you want to talk a little bit. about these uh the history here because. it did not um agricultural agriculture. dogs mhm or agricultural detection did. not start in the US it actually started.

in Mexico yeah uh I guess was probably. the early '70s I I did I could not find. when it started but yeah we know it's. definitely prior to the 70s because. based on this I guess it was a USDA. training manual that was referencing it. it picks up then in the late 70s that. the USDA started this yeah and then up. until 1983 we used um we use big dogs. you know like typically and I think we. covered this in a lot the other like.

drug sniffers like German Shepherds and. um labs are certainly good but they are. uh Labs aren't so intimidating but. German Shepherds can be even though I. love them I grew up with them sure um a. lot of people sight of a German Shepherd. coming at them in an airport U is a. little scary yeah I mean some people. have cynophobia which is a fear of dogs. specifically and in which case even the. smallest dogs going to scare you but. even people who don't have an actual. phobia of dogs are going to be scared of.

certain breeds and that definitely. includes German Shepherds for sure so it. started in Mexico and then uh finally in. 1984 uh the USDA uh USDA started at LAX. um started which is probably a pretty. good airport to pick for a for a pilot. program yeah not a a airplane pilot. program although I'm sure they had those. yeah did you hear about the king of the. Netherlands uhuh they found out that he. has been secretly undercover.

Moonlighting as a KLM airline pilot for. fun for like the last like once a week. um for like the last 20 something years. and has been flying yeah he's yeah. that's what I'm saying like he's been. undercover flying uh not as the king of. the Netherlands just trying to have a. life of his own I thought you meant like. Leo DiCaprio didn't catch me if you can. he just pretended to be a pilot oh no to. get babes and fake checks you're a king. you can't be a pilot wow so was he was.

did he come clean or was he outed I. guess he was outed and he said from time. to time somebody would recognize him but. he'd just have them um kidnapped yeah. kidnapped and killed rendered. extraordinarily wow that's pretty crazy. yeah well good for him yeah they should. just let him fly you know I think I. think so they're going to work it out. probably I hope so if not that guy's one. outlet has been taken away from him well. so his Pilot programed is may be failing.

but the pilot program in 1984 uhuh uh. LAX uh worked great and they um this was. a big deal at the time too it was a big. uh change from any kind of detection. programs that they had at the time I. don't know uh why it took that long but. CU dogs are you know obviously. well-known sniffers M uh to the tune of. I mean compared. to humans what how many millions of old. Factory nerves the dogs have I know it.

varies so somewhere I somewhere in the. middle is the docent I didn't see the. beagles specifically but supposedly. beagles are about average as far as. senting goes which is surprising to me. but the dachon has 125 million old. factory receptors amazing and humans. have 5 million on average and I know the. dogs even their the size of their nose. can make a difference so mhm uh I was a. little surprised they picked beagles but. one of the big reasons is a the Navy had.

used them previously right uh to great. success and B like you said you know. they're they're little they're cute M so. they're not going to scare anyone at the. airport uh and they can they're agile. they're because they're small and they. can jump around on a conveyor belt like. nobody's business yeah to find that. Romanian cotton Weevil right sometimes. they'll find just enough fruit that. they'll make a little headdress out of. it like Karma Miranda yeah nothing cuter. than a beagle in one of.

those um well the other cool thing about. the dogs and their their sniffing. abilities is. uh it's like you you can't disguise. something like if you if you have of. course uh I was about to say drugs again. but if you have let's say you want to. sneak in that cotton Weevil okay and you. think I'm going to hide in in a can of. coffee actually that might be you might. not be able to bring in coffee either. now that I think about it I was just. trying to think of something with a. strong odor um a bottle of perfume okay.

the dog will be able to to pick that out. of that perfume right will'll be able to. almost geolocate it uh because they they. don't they don't get confused like we do. yeah so you know how like a a dog can. when you when you watch a dog on a scent. it's just kind of like sniffing back and. forth in the air as it moves oh yeah so. what it's doing is it's basically the. same thing with our vision right the. information is getting from one nostril. and the other nostril this brain is.

putting together to create basically. like a 3D map of where that smell is. coming from just like the the. information from one eye compared to the. information coming into our other eye. gives us an idea of like depth right or. perspective that kind of thing so it's. basically the same thing but with their. old factory sense um. and the put on top of that is the fact. that they can distinguish sense like. this article this USDA manual said when.

you walk into a kitchen and you smell. chili you smell chili right Chili's. cooking put it all together it's chili. that's what you smell is the the sum of. all the parts yeah or you know if you're. good you might be able to pick out a. thing or two maybe like you know like do. I detect yeah some. cumin but um a dog will walk in there. and smell every single one of the. ingredients separately right which is. why you can't just take take something. and try to overpower the smell of it.

with something else the dog will smell. the thing that you're using to try to. overpower it with but it'll also smell. the the other scent apparently they can. smell this thing says they can smell. table salt in a dilution of one part to. 10 million parts that's amazing isn't. that crazy that is crazy that's also why. if you've ever taken your dog to a new. um like a new really new environment. that they've never been to like the. beach for instance when I took uh I.

think a couple of years ago we did a. Beach vacation and took our dogs and uh. they were going crazy like we walk him. down to the beach and it was just nose. in the air cuz you know there's always a. good Breeze or usually a good breeze on. the beach and I can imagine they were. just they were smelling these just. hundreds and hundreds of things that. they'd never smelled before yeah uh and. it's pretty neat to see and you kind of. wonder what's going on in that L head of. theirs you know mhm or my case one lad. and one smart one I've seen before um.

that if when a dog is sniffing at a tree. what you're watching them do is sniff. you know the tree itself but also every. single insect in that tree every bird in. that tree everything that's in that tree. right then that dog is smelling that. yeah and and I think it definitely. varies because uh obviously some dogs. are better like hunting dogs and such. and the my new dog uh Nico we think may. be part uh plot Hound what's that. uh just like a you know a Hound okay I.

mean you can look up plot hound and. looks like my dog okay all right but. like a mix of a plot Hound but I think. that they're like really good um scent. dogs too because she more so than other. dogs I've had is really driven by her. nose and when you let her out she's got. her nose to the ground like for quite a. while I I was reading today about scent. tracking and apparently it's something. like some people like to do agility. stuff with their dog or other people do. like obedience like competitions and.

stuff and then other people and. apparently this also is a really good. thing to do if you found your your dog. is like no good at obedience right they. might actually love scent tracking. because unlike The Obedience stuff or. the agility stuff when you're when. you're scent tracking the dog is totally. in charge like you're basically. following the dog but you're doing it. together especially during training as. well well you know they say if your dog. has behavioral problems and a lot of.

times that means they have a job that. they're not being they're not allowed to. do oh yeah that makes sense you know. like uh if you have a herting dog that's. doesn't have a herd then that might be a. big pain in your butt until you can find. a way to kind of let them uh I don't. know they can not necessarily work. part-time as a hurder but do something. that acts as a hurder you know might as. well make some money off of it uh you. want to take a little break mhm all. right we're going to take a break and. get back back to the beagles right after.

[Music]. this all right Chuck so we're back so we. were talking basically about dogs in. general but since. 1984 the USDA has been training beagles. for its beagle Brigade right which is. this Frontline. covering America's agricultural.

infrastructure that is correct so. um I was very heartened to learn from. researching this that the Beagle brigad. specifically with the USDA all of them. come from shelters they're all shelter. animals yeah and you know what it kind. of makes sense at first I just thought. it was out of the kindness of their. heart that they wouldn't like support. the dog buying industry but uh they they. a lot of times just get problem dogs.

these beagles that are so like you know. up in the business in your pantry or. your refrigerator or sniffing out your. shoes so they can chew them up people. will you know uh well I have opinions on. this but people will turn that dog back. in or whatever to be uh adopted. hopefully at a from a no kill shelter. right at the very least so then that's a. that's a big point that this um USDA. spokesperson makes in the house of Works. article is like a lot of people are. saying. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

you guys are using these dogs as tools. basically yeah um and I don't know I. don't think dogs should be used that way. and the the usda's response is well a. lot of these dogs would would basically. be put down if it weren't for us you. know they would be euthanized because. they can't they're too hyper to to live. with a family but that's exactly the. kind of temperament we need for what. we're having them do so actually it's.

win-win for everybody well yeah and and. as much as I love my dogs laying around. in bed with me um a happy dog it's a dog. that's working and. exercising um and then at the end of the. night they get to relax but you know. it's easy to and we we covered some of. this in uh and seeing ey dogs and stuff. it's easy to be like oh man that dog. doesn't get to have fun all day and. that's just not true at all these dogs. have a purpose and they uh they're good. at what they do so don't don't think of. it as like using this dog as a tool um.

in a bad way you know right and then on. the other end of it if the dog is. brought into the program and they find. out that the dog doesn't have what it. takes um maybe it doesn't work very well. idst chaos that like an airport always. has or um perhaps the the um the dog. just seems unhappy they say if the dog. seems unhappy they'll retire it or early. yeah uh at any rate they have a.

apparently a 100% record of adopting out. their beagles and there's a weit list. right now oh I'm sure um to adopt these. beagles that have have worked for you. know several years or or didn't work. didn't make it but you know entered into. the program they don't return them to. shelters they don't euthanize them they. adopt them out and apparently the usdaa. has 100% adoption record on that which. is pretty outstanding yeah and as with a. lot of service dogs um their first uh.

their handlers given first right of. refusal for adoption right um imagine a. lot of times they they do so you know. yeah I would guess so too because. apparently when the dog and the the. Handler are paired up together as a team. um they they stay a team for the the. dog's whole career it's like like Rigs. and myto right or Turner and Hooch. actually it's not like Rigs and myto cuz. they were pair at the very end of Danny.

Glover's. career so that was a bad analogy oh. that's right that's true cuz he's too. old for that crap he is that was a big. line yeah it was a great line isn't that. a TV show. now uh I don't think it is anymore oh. Jerry's nodding but that probably means. you're both right shortlived I think so. I I haven't seen any ads for it lately. what a dumb idea like hey let's dust. this thing off from 25 years ago they do. that with everything like Twin Peaks.

even it's like how how come on how are. you going to pick that back up let's. just well I don't mind that because. that's just more greatness from David. Lynch is it any good I've heard not. necessarily I think it's great I mean. it's uh I mean I'm a fan of anything. David Lynch does it doesn't sure it I. didn't expect it to be exactly what Twin. Peaks was it just feels like a new TV. show from David Lynch to. me oh gotta really okay you yeah I could. be down with that um all right so let's. get into this uh you you mentioned.

handlers we've been dancing around this. the whole time uh you mentioned handlers. and uh this like we said earlier this. takes place at a place called The. National detector dog training center. the. nddtc right here in lovely Nunan Georgia. which uh Is that West I think it's. Southwest Southwest like just down 85. after it splits off as 7 585 my. knowledge of my own home state is pretty.

poor if I haven't camped there and it's. outside of Atlanta I probably don't know. exactly where it is I'm pretty sure I'm. right okay Southwest then let's go with. that okay um and they start training. like with most service dogs they they do. that initial testing to just sort of see. are they healthy do they have the right. temperament how's their behavior and. that initial screening is where the. first lot uh gets weeded out and one of. the biggest parts of that initial. weeding out is uh they have to have a.

high food drive and that's not that. doesn't mean how hungry are they that. means your dog has just been fed this. little beagle is just eaten but they. still have a high desire to get to where. the food is it's like bacon bacon bacon. basically that's what you're looking for. yeah and you make a lot of noise and you. have crowds around and you just you're. testing their focus and this is all just. the like I said the initial screening to. say all right little Henry the beig here. has what it takes right we think yeah.

well yeah that's just a start can he. also learn to differentiate that's the. big one that's the next big step right. so I think there's like a one or two. week like evaluation Pro um process they. also like give the dog a full like. Veterinary. inspection um I believe they spay Andor. neuter I guess not. Andor specifically not Andor in that. case or they they they spay or neuter to.

the dog um a lot of times the dogs come. in in not very good shape because. they're shelter dogs yeah they probably. weren't taken very good care of um early. in their life so they they may need some. sort of treatment or checkups or. whatever but then after that happens the. training actually starts and the dogs. are trained to scent I guess starting. out from what I saw five basic. restricted scents yeah this that didn't. expect these would you Pi these five.

it's. Rando oh is it no no it's random Oh I. thought they they were I thought there. were five cents no there are and I'm. saying it's a pretty random assemblage. oh okay I got you man you'd think after. nine years. together but I mean if you were to have. picked five cents I probably would have. definitely uh picked Beef Pork and. citrus those make sense I guess I would. have picked like monkey bat. and probably Pig too yeah but I mean.

those are in there so well the the the. monkey and the bad aren't but um Beef. Pork Citrus mango yeah that's where you. threw me what was the other one apple. apple what's wrong with apple I didn't. even know they grew apples outside of. the United States who's trying to. smuggle an apple into the US I don't. know we got the best ones here buddy. just leave them at home yeah I would. love to know why those are the five. basic sense um if someone has more.

information that cuz I could not find. out I could not either there's a real. dir of um of information on this stuff I. even emailed the customs and and uh. Border Protection today because I could. not for the life of me find the name of. that first beagle that that started out. at LAX in 1984 cannot find it anywhere. well you're I'm starting to suspect that. somebody forgot to write it. down so no one knows you know being ra. now probably oh yeah I've been looking.

up like you know restricted items. agriculture invasive species stuff like. that I'm sure I'm on a list all right so. they teach them those uh well this is. you know toward the end is when they. know those five basic scents it first. they're just basically teaching them how. to sniff through uh bags and suitcases. and boxes and making sure they can you. know they'll throw a they'll throw a. goat's head in a. suitcase and send it through n and you.

laugh but one of them found a goat head. not too long ago I know so it happens um. and they just make sure they can do that. and they eventually and then of course. they have to differentiate like there's. a lot of things that are scented like. those things that are just fine like an. orange. perfume right well that's another that's. a got to be kind of tough to learn for a. dog too is the difference between you. know orange scented stuff or things that. are made with like say orange Essence. like a a a candy or lip balm or. something like that and an actual orange.

cuz the lip balm no problem actual. orange you got a problem that's right. and once they've done this this is about. a oh a few months probably 10 to 13. weeks mhm um and this is uh and they're. being trained in regular like how to paw. at stuff and and alert and uh sitting. responses like all all of this is one. big learning period and the Handler is. getting trained as well obviously right.

uh but at the end of this is when they. they finally do graduate to those five. basic scents um and I guess see what I. don't get from the basic scense is is it. from those scents that they can smell. anything no that's crazy that's what I. thought too that that's that's what it. implies like if you put together apple. and pig and mango you've got like bat. just that's not the case like each thing. has its own scent yeah I don't know if. those are like the most commonly. smuggled ones possibly maybe so those.

are the ones they need to start out with. maybe they're the easiest ones I don't. know but I yeah if you put those things. together especially if a dog smells in. layers right and differentiates between. scents it's not going to smell the. combined scent of those things it's. going to smell each thing so I'm not. sure why those are the five basic ones. can't find out yeah well hopefully this. one was a stone wall I mean like we're. professional researchers here and like. we really ran into a wall yeah who would. have known that the Beagle Brigade is. what would throw us it would break us uh.

so they they've learned all these scents. they've learned how to alert they're. getting Treats they're getting positive. reinforcement along the way yeah that's. a big one too the entire training is. strictly positive reinforcement yeah. they don't they don't beat these dogs. down if they're not smelling correctly. they have like they spend 10 grand a. month on newspapers to roll up teach. these dogs lessons puppy pounder mhm uh. so once they. once they've gone through all of that um.

everyone knows I'm joking right yeah and. if you're new to the podcast and don't. just don't even bother emailing yeah. we're we're great animal lovers here um. so once they've they've gone through. this whole training process they finally. graduate they get their little diploma. their little hat and their little robe. and they graduate from Nan and they get. to move to the big city with their. Handler Atlanta or anywhere any. international airport but Atlanta has a. large one for sure um and so once they.

get to their Homebase airport that. they're going to be working at they're. still evaluated and trained for another. sometimes 10 to 13 weeks yeah training. is kind of ongoing from what I saw too. like the whole career you know yeah. there there it's not like there okay. stop learning dog yeah you know too much. um but the I think the initial training. period their their basic training still. can go on for another 10 to 13 weeks.

after they get to the airport and even. once they get to the airport it doesn't. necessarily mean that they're going to. um stay in the program again once. they're finally introduced to the chaos. of an international airport that dog. might just be like this is not for me. send me back to Nan yeah you know I mean. you can try and duplicate that chaos in. Nan but yeah good luck you just can't I. mean even you just can't there's nothing. like like a a busy airport you can't.

recreate that yeah so some dogs are fine. with it some dogs are not but again one. of the main reasons why they're choosing. beagles is because it is so chaotic and. these dogs are their whole thing is. they're not there like a mail processing. facility they're not there at like a. border crossing they're there at a busy. airport and they're they're meant to be. able to kind of weave in and out of this. the crowd while also being. non-threatening and also being lovable. too like that's not that's not by. accident that they chose these.

incredibly adorable dogs the USDA says. that the Beagle Brigade is basically. like a walking lovable advertisement for. what they're trying to do which is. protect agriculture here in the US yeah. they have a little vest that says beagle. Brigade yeah and uh everyone oo and a. and some people if you're not this is. probably how they do it if you're not. actively ooing and eyeing and you're. standing there sweating heavily right. then the dog keys in on you so that'd be. a big trouble and I don't know if you. said it or not if you did I didn't catch.

it but they the dogs are trained um to. walk up to to locate a a Contraband item. and sit at the bag yeah yeah they I. thought they attacked the person first. it's called the passive indicating yeah. but rather than I saw in this article it. says they paed at the everywhere else I. saw that they just sit and and kind of. look at the person like shame on you. exactly it's very passive aggressive way. to out somebody for a goat's head in.

their suitcase right should we take a. break oh yeah man you read my mind all. right uh we're going to do that and. we're going to finish up here with a. bagle. [Music]. brigade all right so what happened at. the end of a long day. Josh uh the dog um most beagles enjoy a.

good pipe maybe a scotch in an easy. chair um perhaps a cigar T they sure. they tend to watch CNN although if you. watch Fox News um and they fall asleep a. little drunk that's what they do every. night it's their routine and that's what. beagles like oh no that's our. routine at our clubhouse where we live I. know uh weirdly and this kind of.

surprised me I guess it's not weird now. that I've seen the explanation but I was. surprised to learn that they are. kenneled I thought that they I thought I. guess I thought they lived with their. Handler yeah cuz K9 police dogs live. with their handlers yeah I thought it. was weird too but they're kenneled uh. they have a facility near the airport um. some people have asked like uh can can I. just keep this dog at night and then. take him to work every morning uh and. they say no they said this is actually. best for everyone they need their rest I.

imagine they have a good play together I. doubt if they just like drive them. straight there and put them in the crate. you know it's probably a little Social. Scene going on I hope so yeah I hope. they don't like get scolded for making. ey contact with the other working dogs. they live with no they they put in their. eight hours they come home they probably. play a bit and then they're kindled. overnight yeah uh and they said that. they you know they need this rest time. uh and in order to do their job. successfully and like I said a happy dog.

is a dog that feels good about its work. and you said Chuck some people ask if. they can take them home sure you should. specify like that's not the agents. asking that that's like people at the. airport I know like can I just take them. home for the night and you guys can come. get them tomorrow or I'll bring them. back I only live like 45 minutes away. yeah sure just get give me your cell. phone number that sounds great so it. does make sense um that yeah they they. are left to just kind of rest I'm sure. that they actually live at the airport.

which is funny it's like that movie. Terminal with Tom Hanks it says a nearby. facility you think it's actually there. I'm sure yeah um did you know that that. movie Terminal with Tom Hanks is based. on a real life thing yeah that and the. guy was like living there for a decade. or something like that in Charles deal. yeah did you see that movie no I just. read the article the movie was based on. yeah it's not very good unfortunately I. got that impression yeah it was a bummer. oh really it doesn't end well well no it.

was just a bummer that it wasn't good. because it was like Spielberg and Tom. Hanks and sure think my hopes were high. yep but um yeah I didn't care for it no. such luck Charles uh so the Beagle. Brigade is uh it's a very closely. guarded secret just how many beagles are. brigading so uh they can say though that. there are 116 CBP agricultural canine. teams with the dogs and the handlers and.

that every International Airport in the. country has a beagle Brigade there right. doing their job so they can tell you a. lot yeah I mean you want to tell some. stories here yes so there was this one. uh dog called Murray Murray Murray was. um he was at a shelter in North Georgia. and apparently some dummies decided they. wanted a a hunting dog and didn't want. to spend any money but they wanted a.

dock tail and ears and everything so. they tried it themselves and it didn't. go very well for poor Murray so they. dropped him off at a shelter probably. knowing knowing the state they probably. dropped him off on a dirt road and. somebody else found him and took him to. a shelter and Murray was rescued by a. group called alov Pet Rescue and I guess. alov has a a direct pipeline to the uh. beagle Brigade handlers at down in Nan.

said hey we think we got one for you. this guy is so food driven it's crazy he. got a lot of love he just needs a little. bit of attention he's missing part of. his ear but we can get past that and uh. at age two or three he became uh a an. agent for the USDA at Atlanta Hartsfield. Jackson International. Airport that's great the only way that. story could have ended better is if. those original people had part of their.

ear cut off Yeah by a dog. yeah what about. Jasper so Jasper he worked at JFK I. think yeah he this was uh late last year. Jasper retired after an eight-year. career and uh during this career Jasper. seized over 17,000. items um the goat's head was Jasper like. I mentioned yeah whale meat yeah whale. meat rhinoceros skin cooked bat really.

mhm uh what else um anything else crazy. like that no not that I saw and a lot of. Romanian cotton weevils right um and the. his Handler Amanda Tipple or triple is. it Tipple or triple triple she said that. um she was interviewed with modern. farmer magazine which I didn't realize. existed until last week um and now you. have a subscription yeah uh they did an. interview with her and she was saying.

that um the that he could very easily. work longer sure but that the mandatory. age of retirement is eight because they. want the dogs to have some years of just. chilling out uh not having to work um. and that she's going to take him home. she's adopting him or she did adopt him. I think that article was from last year. and he was on the verge of retirement. when they interviewed him but um he went. and apparently this is fairly normal. went from something like 15 to 30 hits.

20 to 30 hits a day wow but de had. declined to about 10 to 15 oh yeah. everybody was very disappointed in. him well I mean that's a good retirement. age if they're eight like barring some. uh very sad Health concern uh you know a. dog that size can live to be you know 13. 14 years old right sure they still have. many years ahead of them hopefully yeah. in retirement yeah and once she she.

takes them. home you know she gets another dog that. she's going to partner with so I wonder. how that'll go over you know will will. Jasper be like I know where you've been. today and I I just want to tell you. again I'm not happy with this well I bet. Jasper uh I bet Jasper and and all. retired dogs have to deal with that. transition you know yeah like uh I. imagine there's something the handlers. have to do with them on a day daily. basis like you know probably a lot of.

long walks I imagine the dog isn't just. like all right and now I'm going to rest. right you know like they're used to that. activity well yeah yeah I was wondering. that as well I wondered too if they they. get them when they're young so they're. super hyper and then maybe by the time. they're eight they've mellowed a little. bit sure at least comparatively speaking. Yeah Yeah I think a mellow beagle is. still pretty hyper compared to a normal. dog yeah I've never been around beagles. actually. oh they they they'll pull yeah yeah and.

they they baay and everything they're. super cute but they they can be. rambunctious for sure yeah I've never. I've never known anyone with a beagle so. I don't even know if I've ever touched a. beagle now I think about it no but if. you've been touched by a beagle you'll. never forget it Chuck uh a couple of. stats for you last year alone in 2016. the Brigade inspected 23 million. passengers uh 74100. pieces of freight and they alerted total.

in the United States uh to more than. 1.77 million seizures of illegal. materials that's a lot that's about what. like 7even 8% of people bringing stuff. in that have been uh caught yeah and I. saw also that there's a um there's an. even more specialized group of dogs that. are typically Jack Russell Terriers that. work on Guam to root out spe. specifically Brown tree snakes yeah. that's crazy which are an invasive.

species that got introduced to Guam and. have killed off like a lot of indigenous. bird species and they're basically. trying to protect Hawaii as much as they. can I didn't know Hawaii didn't have. snakes until this article yeah it's like. Ireland over there yeah I mean it made. sense of course but I just figured I. mean there's all kinds of uh invasive. species so I just thought that I just. figured snakes would be one of them yeah. no Hawaii takes their their like the. agriculture defense very seriously yeah. it's a felony the snake thing is yeah.

well they'll just beat you up before. they even take you to jail they catch. you well I read an article because I was. like what is that real and which is uh I. guess of great comfort to to Backcountry. exploring an. explorers um if you're scared of snakes. mhm but uh I read an article and there. was there there were a couple of them. found last year that you know people had. managed to sneak in and one was a boa. constrictor that was dead in the road. like 5 ft long and the guy oh man uh saw.

it and said like there's a snake and. everyone in the car was like there are. no snakes in Hawaii they're like no. that's a snake he's like oh I'm just a. total idiot I. guess I'm sure their legs under there. just big lizard I hate you guys um yeah. that was that was news to me so very. interesting supposedly the Everglades. down in Florida have a huge problem with. um burmes pythons and like a couple of. different kinds of pythons that and all. of them were pets and now they're just.

taking over and getting to be like 20. feet long or just crazy eating wild. bores and things like that because. idiots get them and then they grow and. they say this snake is too big yeah and. they just put it out in the swamp I just. wanted a puppy. snake uh so here's a good example too. like you know it's easy to like the goat. head and the cooked Pig gets a lot of. attention uh but usually stuff is it's. not nefarious you know it's like this.

this one lady uh in February of this. year actually there was a uh beag old. name Gadget that sees and this is just. one seizure from one person MH uh a. potted Tamarind plant uh two live trees. 42 packages of seeds 20 pieces of palm. tree plantings chory seed rice Millet. and fresh garlic and a note from. God I mean that's a lot of stuff but. this is what happens like someone goes. to another country and they want to.

bring back like seeds to plant something. it's not like they're awful people but. it it can they can innocently wreak. havoc on agriculture here by doing so. you know right so the the process from. what I gather is that you declare. anything you have on you um and then if. if they can let you bring it through. then they'll let you bring it through. but if not they'll just take it and be. like sorry we got to take this then. they'll shoot it in in front of you um.

if you don't declare it and they catch. you with it thanks to the Beagle Brigade. um you can be fined up to something like. $1,000 for your first offense and if. it's clear you're like a straightup. Smuggler yeah you will probably go to JL. well this person did declare that had. all that stuff uh chocolate and an apple. so I guess she thought maybe if I. declare something I won't be as. suspicious I don't know right but I mean. if you're a CBP agent um and you're.

looking at that and you have the. discretion of whether to arrest that. person or not you you may very well be. like know you're you were definitely. trying to smuggle this stuff so you're. I'm going to I'm going to make an. example out of you lady yeah and then. gadgets just sitting there just like. juding what have I. done yeah and the lady as they're. hauling her off to jail she's like I. would have gotten away with it if it. hadn't been for you meddling. dogs uh you got anything else I do I. have one more thing I ran across this. article I think it was on courts and it.

said like bush meat illegal bush meat. could be the cause of the next big. Global pandemic oh wow there's. apparently a major market for bush meat. which is any wild animal meat most. people think of it as like monkey or bat. or something like that but it it also is. like elk or Caribou any illegal meat. that's basically just being smuggled. around yeah um there's huge markets for. it in New York in uh London in Mainland. Europe um and people just smuggle it in.

and a lot of them make it through and. these things just get sold behind the. counter at butcher shops in some cities. and all it's going to take is one of. those things to have Ebola and uh maybe. a mutant strain that that is transmitted. a little more easily than Ebola light or. whatever we have now right and uh you. got to pandemic on your hands man and we. can say thanks a lot I hope you really.

enjoyed that monkey leg that killed off. 3/4 of the population of humanity. gross just push me those two words I. don't like it I know I know that's. pretty. rough uh so I guess you're done then too. huh I'm done sir okay well if you guys. want to know more about Bush meet. or the Beagle Brigade or anything like. that type those words in the search bar. at how stuff works.com and since I said. search bar it's time for listener.

mail I'm going to call this. one sad yet happy email uh Hey guys my. name is Sam I wanted to send you an. email thanking you for your show uh the. podcast is actually a rediscovery for me. my dad used to play it uh back in 2009. when we would drive up to the mountain. to go skiing a very fond memories of. laughing and nerding out with my dad and. brothers after a great day on the the. slopes can't believe you guys are still. going strong after 8 plus years there is.

a little more to my rediscovery of your. show though that I wanted to share it's. been 4 and a half years since one of my. brothers who is an amazing skier uh died. tragically to Suicide uh since I was in. college at the time and didn't have. enough time to properly grieve uh. recently I've been mulling through many. painful memories that I ignored in those. first 3 years however your show. unexpectedly brought back really happy. ones uh it is reminded me the fun. adventure and learning our family. enjoyed while listening to your show. when we were skiing I remember laughing.

hysterically with my family at your. jokes rolling my eyes when my brothers. and dad would try to comment on your. show to sound smart cuz it was so creepy. one of your favorite episodes uh of ours. was the one on cannibalism uh being a. high schooler at the time I also really. liked the show on flirting so I thought. I could put it into practice needless to. say it didn't really work what this. month I went home for a week to visit my. parents and I went skiing with my mom. and dad but the first time since my. brother died it was very painful but. also unimaginably special uh when my.

family and I are on the mountain I feel. like I can encounter my brother as he. was when he was healthy and full of life. I could picture him diving down a slope. that was way too steep with the most. enormous grin on his eager face all in. all it was a great day so I just want to. say thank you for the hard work and. providing interesting topics to fill my. time making me laugh but also. inadvertently helping me cherish a. special time in my. life man that heavy that is from Sam and. she sends hugs Sam that is fantastic.

thank you very much for letting us know. we appreciate that uh and uh our best to. your whole family absolutely if you want. to get in touch with us like Sam did you. can send us an email to stuff podcast at. howstuffworks.com as always join us at. our home on the web stuff you should. know.com. stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart radio for more podcasts my heart. radio visit the iHeart Radio app Apple. podcasts or wherever you listen to your.

favorite shows. [Music].