Colorado Springs Gazette
December 2003

Taint’s checkered past finally caught up with him. The 70-pound Belgian Malinois was on doggy death row at a military base for aggression and biting.    “They were going to put him down because he has behavioral issues,” Air Force Academy kennel master Tech. Sgt. Chris Jakubin said.  Jakubin came to Taint’s rescue. He’d worked with the dog in Texas and thought he deserved one more chance.    “I called and said, ‘He’s a good dog. I’ll take him,’” Jakubin said.  Jakubin’s faith in the dog has been rewarded.  The dog has three drug finds and a bronze medal under his collar.  He got the medal for taking third place in agility at last month’s Tucson Canine Trials, competing with 70 military and civilian dogs from across the globe. He scored a 98.5 to finish a nose behind two dogs from Peterson Air Force Base, which has the fifth-largest Air Force kennel.

Another AFA dog, Aghbar, placed second in explosive detection at the same competition. Peterson dogs won seven awards, including one for Top Dog.    It was quite a showing for the academy when you consider its new kennel doesn’t have much of a training course.  “We had to go all over town to get different obstacles. We borrowed Colorado Springs Police Department’s course. Peterson and Fort Carson let us use their courses,” Jakubin said.

 The academy canine unit was started in response to the Sept. 11 attacks to increase security.    A state-of-the-art kennel was built this year, with heated floors and lots of room. It houses seven dogs, each with its own talent and personality.    For instance, Aghbar, which means “great” in Arabic, is as polished as Taint is notorious.

Aghbar returned last month from a 130-day stint in Qatar with his handler, Staff Sgt. Kristopher Evers.  While deployed, Aghbar sniffed more than 20,000 vehicles and provided protection for a base of 6,000 people in harsh conditions.  “When we first got there the heat got to him,” Evers said. “It was 120 degrees with 90 percent humidity.”  Aghbar had to wear “doggles” to keep sand out of his eyes.  They returned from Qatar a week before the three-day Tucson trials, and they get along so well they shared a room — and a bed — at the Doubletree Hotel during the meet.

Taint and his handler, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Weale, roomed together, but the dog slept in his own bed. It took time for Weale and Taint to develop trust. “It took me a month and a half just to take him out of his kennel. Every time I went in there, he would try to bite me,” Weale said. “I’d take a piece of hot dog and try to feed him to build up some rapport.”   He still requires special attention. For example, his tail was cut to a stump this year because he kept chewing it.    Taint is good at his job, however. He and his fourlegged comrades do serious patrol and search work. They also strut around at football games.

“They are a psychological deterrent, so we try to be seen as much as possible,” Jakubin said. “People who know we have dogs here are less likely to use drugs, be a terrorist or do a criminal act.”