SMALL DOGS ARE ON A BIG MISSION BEAGLE BRIGADE SNIFFS OUT CONTRABAND VEGETABLES AT LAX.

Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Snuffling among the bags coming into Los Angeles International Airport, Hunter went right to work, searching for hidden contraband.

Almost immediately, he sat down next to a bag and pointed at it with his nose to alert his handler. With a little prodding, the passenger, who had just disembarked from a flight from Taiwan, produced the forbidden item.

An apple.

It's not your typical contraband, but then Hunter isn't your typical search dog.

About a foot tall, with floppy ears and a sweet disposition, he's a member of the Beagle Brigade, a team of dogs and handlers charged with patrolling airports to protect the multibillion-dollar U.S. agriculture industry.

``Almost every dog is a nosy dog. They're busybodies. They're born to search and find,'' said Soroya Waite, a K-9 officer with the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection. ``This is just a game. When it's playtime, we have fun together, but this is his real fun.''

At a time when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security focuses much of its resources on preventing terror attacks, the Beagle Brigade is ferreting out the terrorists of agriculture - the invasive pests and diseases that hitchhike into the country on fruits, vegetables and other food products.

Because of their acute sense of smell, inquisitive nature and gentle, friendly manner, beagles are the perfect breed to detect invasive pests and plants, said Waite, who has been Hunter's handler for the past three years.

Fighting imported pests and diseases such as Mediterranean fruit flies, citrus canker and exotic Newcastle disease has already cost tens of millions of dollars.

``These are not theoretical threats,'' said Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau. ``These are actual threats to farms and ranches.''

For Hunter, the job is literally a second chance at life. The 5-year-old beagle was rescued from a shelter to be trained as a detection dog.

All of the program's 130 detector dogs stationed at 21 international airports were either rescued from shelters or donated by breeders.

Once Hunter locates hidden food or plants, the passenger is sent to a secondary inspection area, and Hunter receives a treat for his efforts.

He works hard during his eight-hour shift, but during frequent breaks he lives a dog's life, relaxing in a private area away from passenger terminals.

When he rolls onto his back for a belly rub, only his blue jacket and the tattoo on the inside of his haunches - USDA 089 - reveal that he's a dog with a mission.

Beagle Brigade dogs sniff out about 75,000 hidden food items each year, each one a potential time bomb for growers.

Many international passengers don't realize that the seemingly harmless food they tuck into their bags could devastate local growers, Waite said.

Beagle Brigade dogs are trained to sniff out dozens of fruit, meat and other food odors. Some learn to recognize as many as 50 food smells during their six- to 10-year career.

Passengers, particularly children, often mistake Hunter for a pet and stop to play with him, Waite said. Always friendly and outgoing, he greets everyone who approaches him, but his focus never wavers from the job at hand, she said.

``They're very happy to see him, because he's so cute. He says, 'You can pet me, but what's in the bag?' They're always working.''

Part of Waite's job is to protect her tiny canine partner from heavy suitcases and the baggage carts that weary passengers wield like battering rams to clear a path in crowded terminals.

Most passengers at LAX don't even notice Hunter, or if they do, they don't realize what a serious job he has, said Diana Verity, a supervising officer.

``Sometimes they sniff the bag and finish before people even know they're there,'' she said.

Growers are grateful for the Beagle Brigade's presence, because the dogs and handlers educate passengers about the importance of keeping invasive organisms out of the country, Kranz said.

``They're a good public relations tool,'' he said. ``I think they serve even more value than the things they sniff out.''

But Verity and Waite have seen the items that the beagles sniff out and the devastating pests and diseases they contain. Hunter recently detected a bag of cherries infested with Mediterranean fruit fly larvae.

``We stop a lot of stuff from going out,'' Verity said. ``I think we make a big impact.''

Andrea Cavanaugh, [phone]

andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Sporting a Homeland Security patch, Hunter, a member of the Beagle Brigade, sniffs the bag of a traveler arriving at LAX, looking for unauthorized fruits and vegetables.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer