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Although the organization typically donates the highly trained animals to fire and police departments, concern about Congressional gift rules stopped the CapitolPolice from accepting the animals, said Wilma Melville, NDSDF's founder and executive director.
Once handlers learn the various commands, Melville said, they will be teamed with their own dogs, who include: Kelly, a female yellow Labrador retriever, Giuli, a female chocolate Labrador retriever, Baron, a male German shepherd, and Tag, a male border collie.
"We need the explosive detection dogs on a daily basis but these dogs will be on call," said Capitol Police spokeswoman Kim Bolinger. In addition to being used for possible emergencies in the capital area, the dogs could potentially be deployed if a terrorist attack or other event were to occur in the region.