Bomb-Sniffing Dog Arco Recaptured After Escaping From Detroit Airport

Animal control officers have recaptured Arco, a retired bomb-sniffing dog that escaped from Detroit's Metro Airport on Monday after biting two handlers.

Arco was spotted Tuesday afternoon running around the train tracks in Romulus, Mich., and led officers on a two-hour chase before he was finally caught and shipped off to the Romulus Animal Shelter. There, he'll be quarantined for 10 days and tested for rabies, the Detroit Free Press reports.

According to CBS Detroit, Arco escaped from the airport after biting Continental Airlines cargo employees who had taken him out for a bathroom break between flights. Arco was on the last leg of his journey from Arizona to Ohio, to meet his new owner. He had been living at Rescued Shelters Inc., a facility that rescues dogs and trains them to aid disabled veterans.

The 5-year-old Belgian shepherd once worked at the White House as a bomb-sniffing dog but was retired by Capitol Police. His adoption advertisement acknowledges that he later killed a neighbor's cat and had been "deemed by the local judge to be a 'dangerous dog' under Virginia State Law."

Arco eventually ended up at Rescued Helpers Inc. and was trained for 7 months before employees put up an adoption advertisement on Facebook. The ad happened to catch the eye of Toledo, Ohio, woman Sheri Schuman, according to Fox 2.

"He was posted on Facebook as a rescue dog, needed a new home and new life. He used to work at the White House and the Capitol. He used to be the bomb sniffing dog. So, he's got a lot of hidden secrets I'd like to know," Schuman told Fox 2.

After receiving word that Arco had missed his connection to Ohio, Schuman waited with bated breath for good news, and was ecstatic when she learned the pooch was safe and sound.

"It's been a long ordeal. It's like missing a child. You'd do anything for your child. I'd do anything for an animal because animals are my children," Schuman said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included reports that Arco killed a cat before being retired by Capitol Police. The incident actually happened about three years later.

Comments

[kittenz]

01:10 PM on 02/02/2012

This is the 2nd biting incident involving a former service dog "trained to help a soldier with PTSD". On Jan 30, in Oak Grove, KY, a "small German Shepherd" (maybe a Belgian Malinois - many people confuse the two very similar breeds) attacked a six-year-old boy whose family was visiting the soldier. The child was KILLED. He was airlifted to a trauma center in Nashville, TN, where he DIED. I don't know why that's not national news. I don't know all the details of the fatal attack; the news reports say that the boy was left alone in the fenced backyard with the dog while the parents visited indoors, and apparently no one actually saw the attack.
Training dogs to help PTSD soldiers is a wonderful idea - but who oversees this program? Who certifies the dogs "safe" before giving them to the soldier? That soldier will surely suffer as much from his dog killing his friend's child as from PTSD acquired in military service. The dogs retrained for this need to have rock-solid temperaments. Some service dogs can be retrained for other work, but "problem dogs" that cannot be controlled should be retired to a sanctuary, or put down. I love dogs, especially German Shepherds; I've had GSDs all my life, but you can't let love blind you to the fact that some dogs should never be placed in private homes.

[socialtalker]

02:52 PM on 01/20/2012

here is a better informed article. arco is definitely going to his new home. he has a job waiting for him too: good news, i just hope he behaves himself
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-18/michigan-dog-escape/52632368/1
apparently they called in trained animal control workers who got the clever idea of calling the dog's name...
After the quarantine he'll be released him to Schumann, who said he will become a tester at her dog treats business

[ohryoko]

03:29 PM on 01/20/2012

Well, better informed except calling him a retired bomb dog- read my comments below- I've already shown why that is a gross exaggeration. And if Capitol Police could not control this dog, my neighbors could not control this dog, and the rescue organization that took him could not control this dog- how is the owner of a dog treat bakery qualified to control this animal?

[socialtalker]

11:25 PM on 01/20/2012

maybe she can put some hashish or maryjane in his biscuits to chill him out?

[CFDSTA76C4]

06:55 PM on 01/19/2012

Sad this had to happen to Arco...Now What??? This is absolutely unexceptionable!!!

[SadForArco]

06:11 PM on 01/19/2012

I for one can say this.............For a FACT, my son and I transported Arco from outside Iowa City Iowa after he was flown in there last summer and grounded due to heat problems. We went from Arizona (driving straight thru) to pick him up as he had to leave that state also after killing the cat.
We then drove him back to Arizona, staying in a hotel room with him in New Mexico for 2 days.
Arco was loving but hyper.
What happened to him in Detroit is just plain carelessness from EVERYONE involved!! He was trained to be harnessed, and a choke collar at ALL times!!!
Now being here in this state, after biting 2 people and killing a cat previously....I'm sorry to say; he has the taste of blood now. That may not have been his fault (which it was NOT) BUT, people's carelessness now have signed his future. Also, I and my son had tried to adopt him ourselves several times and were told we could not, even though I am disabled myself. We love Arco and are sorry for him. This all is un-excuseable!

[ohryoko]

06:45 PM on 01/19/2012

Thank you for commenting accurately and honestly on this article. When he was sent to Arizona, I was very afraid that he would hurt someone else, but I thought that maybe, if in the hands of an experienced rescue organization, noone else would have to be hurt. This dog has been repeatedly carelessly handled and many have suffered for it. I acknowledge my own fault in that I should not have allowed my cat to sleep on the porch that day (she was asleep when attacked- she did not provoke him and she was on my porch up 10 stairs in a corner on a chair) it was a stupid mistake and it kills me every day. But again thank you for your honesty and knowledge about this dog.

[SadForArco]

07:21 AM on 01/20/2012

I am so sorry to hear about your cat! That was one of the reasons I was given as to why I couldn't adopt Arco. His High Prey killing for small animals!! My comments above were by NO means meant to say you or your cat were at fault. Some dogs just carry that prey instinct in them and it can't be broke.
The Michigan Humane Society has no idea what they have in their hands, other than 'all the good hype' being posted here. I'm sorry for Arco, but in this situation; someone with higher authority needs to step up and see this case, before someone else gets hurt.

[socialtalker]

01:45 PM on 01/20/2012

sounds like he should be adopted by someone who owns a lot of sled dogs, let him run twice a day and get all that energy out of him and be under an alpha dog, maybe it would chill him out, but this is just speculation, dont know anything about dog teams.

[ohryoko]

03:32 PM on 01/20/2012

Now that sounds like a good idea- I thought the world would be safe from him when he was sent to AZ (well, okay, not really- I knew he'd end up biting someone, sometime) But it sounds like he is going again to a suburban area where he will be endangering other people and pets. Sad.

[socialtalker]

06:04 PM on 01/19/2012

jeez. he is neutered, right? hate to imagine what he would be like carrying a full load.

[Only Gets Better]

03:07 AM on 01/19/2012

What a bunch of bull. If it was just a normal dog and not a special bomb sniffing dog, we all know he would have been put down years ago. He's obviously a threat to anyone/anything around him and cant be trusted. I mean, I love dogs and all, but he doesn't need to be around anymore...

[Trixxie23]

09:00 AM on 01/19/2012

Obviously your "love" for dogs ends when they are scared and react like a dog would. This dog was trained to work, was then retired, shipped to a new home (the rescue) got attached to the people there and then was once again removed from his home and shipped off. The poor dog was scared in a new place, with new people and had just gotten off an airplane for God's sake. If we went around killing everything that reacted badly to a situation there would be A LOT less living beings on this planet...including you.

[SadForArco]

07:23 AM on 01/20/2012

Really? Do you "know" Arco?? I do..........personally. One on one.

[Hillary Wentz]

09:33 AM on 01/19/2012

This dog has been through numerous traumatic situations, and reacted as most dogs would. Also, I can almost guarantee you that when he went through his training to become a bomb sniffing dog, he endured a lot of abuse and was trained to be aggressive. That said, he shouldn't have been being handled by airport staff. He should have had trained animal handlers there to escort him. Once again we as humans use and abuse an animal for our benefit and then fail them once we're done with them.

[Davedawg]

07:31 PM on 01/18/2012

After working at the White House, thats got to be stressful, I wonder if it was a black cat, that could attrubite to his bad luck. OHIO, are you kidding me? OHIO?

[crazydogchick]

11:09 AM on 01/19/2012

It was likely the Cowboy from Toy Story's administration that sent him over the edge!

[Davedawg]

07:28 PM on 01/18/2012

Sure, ya sniff bombs for years, and they dont call you a bomb sniffer, but you kill one cat and your a cat killer for life, the poor pooch lost his job, his pension, and gets booted to OHIO? , OHIO? for christ sakes, its a wonder he didnt commit sucide

[ohryoko]

10:24 AM on 01/19/2012

This dog did not sniff bombs for years. Lets do some math. This dog is 5 years old- he was owned privately in VA for 3.5 years. Bomb sniffing dogs generally get trained around a year old. So we have 6 months of his life left- Training takes 3 months- so if he worked at all as a bomb sniffing dog- it was for, at most, 3 months.

[Davedawg]

12:55 PM on 01/19/2012

Well, in that case he doesnt deserve any pension, no benefits, of any kind other than to say he worked at the white house, maybe a side of Obamacare, but only if he behaves himself from now on. Does that make you feel better?

[SadForArco]

07:26 AM on 01/20/2012

Wait until this bill is sent out!! All those police officers and people!! And the medical bills!! Lets see then who will"pay that bill!!" I'm curious, just saying!
(Bet Michigan gets stuck with it all!)

[crazydogchick]

11:11 AM on 01/19/2012

Dawg, Arco was FROM Ohio! They raised his tail to look and sure enough an "O"!

[Davedawg]

12:52 PM on 01/19/2012

So, it was O in the middle and Hi on the ends, got it now thanks for the correction

[Karumba]

06:45 PM on 01/18/2012

I love animals, and it hurts me to say this, but it sounds like he should be put down - with a record like that outlined by TimT15 - how can he be trusted around anyone?

[TimT15]

11:03 AM on 01/18/2012

This article is full of inaccuracies. First, Arco was not retired after killing a cat. He was retired 3 and half years before this incident occurred. He was retired from the Capital Police due to his inability to be trained. The Capital Police failed him and he was adopted out years ago. He first killed his new family's pet rabbit inside their home. Next, he killed a pet chicken. Then finally this past summer, he killed the cat on the neighbor's front porch. Because the owners did not fence their property, they used an electric shock collar. When Arco killed the cat, they did not use the collar, he escaped, then ran over to the neighbors house, cornered the cat and killed it. This dog has a history of escaping and harming animals and people.

[SadForArco]

06:22 PM on 01/19/2012

I agree with Tim............I know Arco personally, and this story is full of inaccuracies. People should have gotten it together better and this would have never happened!

[acarioti]

10:52 AM on 01/18/2012

Arco should have been trained as a 'drug' sniffing dog. That way he could have been called 'Arco the Narco.' Just saying...carry on...

[morekare]

10:43 AM on 01/18/2012

Wow, this dog has survived so much stress. He deserves a medal. I hope he has a loving permanent home. God bless Arco and his new owner.

[Jmpr143]

10:38 AM on 01/18/2012

If the new owners decide they don't want him I will take him! All they need to do is let him acclimate to surroundings, etc. He'll be fine--no need to end his life!

[whoknew222]

11:01 PM on 01/18/2012

Agreed. I'd love to have this dog, myself.

[Hillary Wentz]

09:28 AM on 01/19/2012

Agreed. This poor dog has been through so much. I'm sure his training to become a bomb sniffing dog was traumatic enough, and now he's being shipped around and around.

[isalcefus]

10:36 AM on 01/18/2012

Sounds like he has PTSD, I don't blame him for running! When you retire you become useless in this country, RUN arco RUN!

[frant100]

10:28 AM on 01/18/2012

Arco is in custody for 10 days. There are numerous agencies that can help him. There are many German Shepard Rescue Leagues who may help. Former dog handlers who are experienced with this type of trained animal may be able to help. His bites seem to be a reactive bite to fear as opposed to an attack on a person. There is a big difference.
Hope Arco finds a good forever home.
HP, keep us posted.