Rescued from a Florida shelter and only on Guam for the past two weeks, Perkins the Beagle, along with three other of his four legged friends is the latest addition to the Guam Customs and Quarantine family. Perkins has been given a second chance at life.


Customs Officer I John Alvarez is assigned to the newly implemented Dog Detector Unit at Guam Customs and Quarantine. Two weeks ago, four new additions arrived making up the team called the Beagle Brigade, a group of dogs that work at airports all over the world sniffing out fruits, meats, vegetables and plants that aren't allowed to be imported into certain countries.


Meet Perkins, he was procured by an instructor from the National Detector Dog Training Center in Florida. Officer Alvarez said, "He was picked up at Seminole County, which is a kill shelter. What happens there is if they have a given time if the dogs aren't adopted they end up being euthanized."

Fortunately, for Perkins and three other beagles, they passed a series of tests and successfully completed a 10-week training course. Now, it's just about time for them to get down to business at the Guam International Airport Authority.


"Perkins will be out up at the airport office initially. We'll branch out to the cargo section eventually and perhaps the maritime section as well. Anyone who attempts to smuggle or maybe just forgets that something's in there, we will be there to let you know," Officer Alvarez noted.

So what could have ended up as a tragic end for Perkins, is a second chance at life. Officer Alvarez says he's confident that all four new dogs are going to make Guam's Detector Dog Unit a success.

"We are pioneers for this project. Again we're really looking forward to getting out there and seeing how they do and so far they've been excellent," he said.