Outline
Messages circulating via social media, email and the blogosphere claims that 400 United States Marine Corps Improvised Explosive Device sniffing dogs are being decommissioned and are therefore in need of good “forever” homes.
Brief Analysis
The message is a hoax. The US Marine Corps has denied the claims in the messages and stated that there are currently no bomb detection dogs available for adoption.
Example
The United States Marine Corp has around 400 IED (Improvised Explosive Device) sniffing dogs that are being decommissioned and need forever homes
They all need forever homes. Most of the dogs are breeds such as:
Labradors, Belgian Malinois, Border Collies, German Shepherds & Rottweilers.
These dogs are all incredibly well-trained. Many of them have served in war zones and are responsible fosaving countless American, NATO and foreign lives. The dogs are based in the District of Columbia (D.C.). Adoptive families … must be able to travel to D.C. to pick up the dogs or arrange transport at their own expense. Please help these war heroes get the lives they deserve.
The contact for interested adoptive families is:
[Name Removed]
PM IED Detector Dog Program Marine Corps Systems Command
[Contact details removed]
PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE
Detailed Analysis
This widely circulated message claims that the United States Marine Corps is decommissioning 400 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) sniffing dogs of various breeds and is seeking adoptive families to provide “forever homes” for the animals.
The message claims that those interested in adopting one of these “incredibly well-trained” canine war heroes should contact the Marine Corps staffer listed. The message is circulating rapidly via social media posts, the blogosphere and email and has also been aired via various radio stations and even some news outlets. It has understandably created a lot of interest with many people expressing their desire to adopt one or more of the dogs.
However, the message is a hoax. The United States Marine Corps has denied the claims in the message and has stated that no bomb dogs are currently available for adoption. An October 17, 2012, US Today article notes:
The Marine Corps is debunking an offer to provide bomb-sniffing dogs for adoption that has been published by numerous websites, blogs and e-mail lists.
There are currently no bomb detection dogs available for adoption, the Marine Corps Systems Command said in a statement.
It is unclear who created the hoax or what motivated them to do so. The staff member named as the contact officer is a real person but when called by US Today, he explained that the message was a hoax and that no such offer was available.
The Marine Corps said that “decommissioned” dogs are usually offered first to other federal agencies because many are still fit for active duty even if they can no longer be sent to work in war zones.
