Canines work for the Secret Service, TSA, Capitol Police
The Columbian
Published: July 11, 2013, 5:00pm
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Handler Alexandra Hassler holds Upton, an explosives-sniffing dog for the Transportation Security Administration, during an eye exam at the Fort Belvoir Vet Clinic at Fort Belvoir, Va., on June 21.
The waiting room is comfortably cool, but the mood is slightly tense. That’s because the patients who seek treatment at this clinic on the grounds of Fort Belvoir are a breed apart from many who seek medical care on the base.
The giveaway?
The treat jar with dog biscuits on the reception desk.
For more than 20 years, the squat red brick building at Fort Belvoir is where the Washington region’s law enforcement dogs — the ones that patrol airports, the Capitol, the White House and other high-profile locations — have come for care.
The region is home to one of the biggest concentrations of working dogs in the country, officials say. Canines from the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration, Amtrak and the Capitol Police come here for their yearly checkups. The dogs are a variety of breeds — German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, Belgian Malinois, even beagles.
“I have nothing but good things to say,” said Sgt. Kevin Murphy, who heads the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s K-9 Unit at Dulles International Airport.”They help keep our dogs healthy.”
During the swelter of Washington summer, clinic personnel have traveled to Dulles to conduct special sessions on spotting heat stroke or exhaustion. During the winter, handlers may receive training on spotting frostbite or hypothermia.
Belvoir’s veterinarians, who are a mix of civilian and military personnel, understand the special needs of their patients. These working dogs may suffer from ailments not necessarily seen in their civilian counterparts. Sometimes it’s back trouble from all the leaping they do into trucks or cargo hatches. Their joints can suffer strain from the same jumping or leaping. Hip dysplasia — a condition caused by improperly formed hip joints — is another common ailment.
And similar to the jobs held by humans, the dogs’ work can be stressful, with long hours and large crowds, said veterinarian Nancy Vincent-Johnson, a 21-year Army veteran who retired and rejoined the clinic as a civilian.
Take Igor, a 9-year-old German Shepherd who works for the U.S. Capitol Police. Vincent-Johnson said he had squeezed Igor in between appointments. Igor, whose specialty is explosives detection, has been having some intestinal issues. His weight is down and his handler says Igor — Iggy to his intimates — is just not himself.
Vincent-Johnson strokes Igor’s rich black and brown coat as she examines him, feeling the area around his rib cage and gently lifting his impressively large paws. Igor stands patiently as she moves her stethoscope along his midsection, while his handler summarizes the shepherd’s symptoms.
“Maybe the food he’s on is too rich,” Vincent-Johnson theorizes. She consults Igor’s chart and notes that blood work done during his last visit indicated a vitamin B12 deficiency. A lack of B12 can result in a type of anemia that results in weakness and fatigue.
The poking and prodding complete, Igor settles on the floor. He lets out a deep sigh.
The doctor prescribes special food for dogs with intestinal issues and a series of shots to help with the B12 deficiency.
There is now good news: Igor has put on weight — six pounds since his last visit — so the hope is that whatever is ailing him will soon be cured.
Igor’s handler leaves the office with a large bag of dog food and several bottles of medicine. Igor gets a doggie treat as a reward.
One room away, Vincent-Johnson’s next patient waits with his handler, Inspector Alexandra Hassler. Upton is a TSA dog specializing in passenger screening and experienced in sniffing out explosives.
The 4-year-old black Labrador is here for the first of two physicals he’ll have this year. As part of that, Vincent-Johnson will run him through a full exam, testing his peripheral vision by waving her hands at the side of his head, eyeing his gait as he walks down the sidewalk and drawing blood for a full screening.
Vincent-Johnson says Upton is healthy. The one exception: his left back teeth.
“He may need some dental work,” Vincent-Johnson tells Hassler.
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