At least 10 highly skilled explosive detection canines (EDCs) sent by the U.S. to Jordan have died from negligence and poor treatment between 2008 and 2016, and two more since then, while dozens of others live in “unhealthy conditions,” a State Department Inspector General report revealed last week.
The State Department has known about the conditions since 2016, but still sent dozens of EDCs to the Middle Eastern country as part of its Explosive Detection Canine Program (EDCP), according to the report. Since August 2016, two dogs have died and one was returned to the U.S. in “grave condition,” the inspector general said.
Zoe, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, died of heatstroke in July 2017 while working at the Syrian border. Then in February 2018, Mencey, a 3-year-old Malinois, was diagnosed with a tick-borne disease and returned to the U.S., where he was diagnosed with another vector-borne disease that caused renal failure, according to the IG. He was euthanized on March 29, 2018.
Athena, a 2-year-old Malinois who went to Jordan in May 2017, became emaciated within a year. She lived in a kennel covered in dirt and feces, and didn’t have fresh water, the inspector general found. She was brought back to the U.S. in April 2018 and made a full recovery after receiving proper nourishment. – READ MORE