Free Republic

In life, they were united in their tireless work saving countless British soldiers in Afghanistan. In death, they were united in tragedy. Shortly after Lance Corporal Liam Tasker was killed in a firefight with the Taliban, his devoted Army search dog Theo suffered a seizure and passed away too. The pair had uncovered 14 home-made bombs and hoards of weapons in just five months – a record for a dog and his handler in the conflict. L/Cpl Tasker, 26, this week became the 358th British serviceman to die in the ten-year conflict. Only last month he described his joy at...

I travelled internationally this summer, and in the airport in Europe encountered an unusual situation. Characteristically laid back, airport security, AFTER all the security checks & searches, had a woman with a very friendly young Labrador retriever dog in the boarding area of the terminal for our flight to the USA. While its not unusual to see well behaved dogs in public places in Europe (even unleashed) clearly this dog had a purpose (undisclosed to passengers) as the handler let it run free, where it curiously sniffed everyone's carryon baggage, intent on a reward, evidently. The dog was very friendly...

Bomb-sniffing pigs to protect settlements Wild boars feared by Muslims, possess powerful snouts. © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com It's government pork of a different sort. Israeli officials will allow a test of a revolutionary security proposal that enlists wild boars to help sniff out Arab terrorists threatening West Bank Jewish settlements and identify them for human guards. The animal is considered more suited than the dogs who currently hold the job. "Pigs' sense of smell is far more developed than that of dogs," explained Kuti Ben-Yaakov of the Jewish Legion, a volunteer security organization that floated the idea. "Boars could be better...