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www.thepeninsulaqatar.com MARKETPLACEMAR | 6 FASHION | 8 ENTERTAINMENTENT | 1111 Counting the steps Knitwear wonders Fitoor: No ‘great’eat’ to health and from Japanese expectations fromrom success designers this adaptationn MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2016 Email: [email protected] thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar Dogs have the innate ability to keep the public safe. Canines working for US Customs and Border Protection snuffle around luggage coming off baggage carousels, searching for such banned goods as fresh produce, exotic wildlife, undeclared currency and illicit drugs. SNIFFING OUT CRIME P | 4-5 MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2016 | 03 CAMPUS IIS bids adieu to senior students Ideal Indian School (IIS) bid farewell to the outgoing students of class XII with much pomp and show recently. The evenings were charged with emotions where the students recounted their days in the school and thanked their alma mater for moulding them into responsible human beings. Principal Syed Shoukath Ali wished them good luck and reminded them of their responsibilities as students and future citizens of the world. The names of the students honoured with special awards for their outstanding performance in curricular and extracurricular activities were announced. The Principal gave away the awards to the winning students. EMS student wins big in Doha Dash nglish Modern School (EMS) student Habiba Shallouf emerged winner in the age Egroup 3 to 8 years in the Doha Dash on National Sport Day. Running is the passion of Habiba and she has run in the Doha Dash DPS-MIS holds farewell for senior students every National Sport Day since she was 5. Habiba doesn’t just run alone! DPS–Modern Indian School organised a farewell party for its students of Grade XII She runs with her sister and her par- who will be leaving the school in March. The event began at 10am with a prayer, ents come out to watch their daugh- followed by a farewell video, dance and band performance all planned and executed ters participate in Doha Dash. This by the Grade XI students. Students of the outgoing batch of 2015-2016 shared year was extra special for the EMS stu- their experiences and memories with the audience. School President Hassan dent as she won first in her age group! Chougule and Principal Asna Nafees wished the children the very best for their Habiba said: “Qatar National Sport Day makes me practice running board exams and future endeavours. They asked the students to follow values faster. I also eat special healthy food before the race — a banana and an and be good citizens of the world by always keeping in mind the school motto apple — and I drink some fresh mango juice” “Service Before Self”. “We are so impressed by the effort Habiba dedicated to her perform- ance and to her commitment to overall health. She is showing unwaver- ing support for National Sport Day and we are so pleased with her win” said Head of EMS Doha, Sandra Shepherd. “Habiba really emulates the characteristics of a dynamic achiever. She always tries her best and her focusing skills are amazing. She is also a very polite and well-behaved student. She follows class rules and is al- ways ready to help me or her fellow students,” Dorota Scislowska, year 3 EMS teacher, said. 04 | MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2016 COVER STORY By “They’re finding stuff all the time,” said Timberlake, who wore a black shirt with a TSA K-9 logo, “so we know they’re To sniff out the bad guys, working and not just looking cute.” The ongoing canine training programme is open to all federal employees — plus a few invited guests — who have a free morning or afternoon and no fear of the TSA turns to canines dogs or hazardous materials. I fit the profile. So for several hours, I played the wily fox in an airport-wide hunt led by GI Dogs. The agency held the how-to-be-a- pretend-bad-guy lesson in a cramped, windowless room in the old wing of the airport. Before Timberlake suited me up, he reviewed some rules about the sub- stance I’d be carrying. “Please don’t eat it or stick it in your eye,” he cautioned, “because they are chemicals.” He also explained the three variables — heat, friction, shaking — that could activate the element. I promised to stay 50 feet away from open flames, avoid fuse boxes and refrain from twitching. Then I signed my name to seal the agreement. For security reasons, Timberlake could not specify the type of sub- stance or amount used in the tests, but he would say that the agency samples dozens of explosives, including ones in- volved in recent terrorist attacks and at- tempts. For reassurance, however, he said that my chance of blowing up was nil. “You are wearing a fraction of what an actual device would be,” he said. He dropped the mystery block in- to a pair of nude pantyhose, which I tied around my waist like a leggy fan- ny pack. Though the dogs weren’t cri- tiquing my outfit, I threw on a jacket to avoid alarming other passengers. En route to Terminal B, Timberlake Andrea Sachs Government and local law enforce- explained how our sense of smell differs The Washington Post ment agencies have employed canines — “We have cut back on from a dog’s. If we pass a restaurant, for and their superpower snouts — for dec- example, we can pick up the scent of a ades. The TSA, for instance, uses dogs general, random real- pizza. A pooch, meanwhile, can tease to inspect cargo, aircraft, parked cars, time threat assessment. out the individual ingredients on the n a late December morning abandoned bags and other stationary These dogs are helping pie: the peppers, pepperoni, tomatoes, at Reagan National Airport, a objects found in and around airports. mozzarella and sprinkle of Parmesan. traveller dressed casually in Canines working for Customs and Bor- people get expedited “They are smelling on a molecular lev- Ojeans, a striped shirt and win- der Protection snuffle around luggage screening.” el,” he said. “They can detect parts per ter boots passed a black dog sniffing a coming off baggage carousels, search- billion.” rack of potato chips. Seconds later, she ing for such banned goods as fresh pro- Before the outing, I had imagined heard the sound of toenails clicking duce, exotic wildlife, undeclared curren- a muscular guard dog with razor-sharp against the hard floor. The noise grew cy and illicit drugs. And four-legged sol- TSA programme for low-risk travelers. teeth tackling me like a rabid lineback- closer and faster. She felt a wet nose diers with the Department of Defence “We have cut back on general, ran- er. However, Timberlake told me that press against her hand and watched scour war zones for improvised explo- dom real-time threat assessment,” said the K-9 team is filled with “floppy-eared a red rubber toy roll by. An exuberant sive devices and other deadly contrap- Timberlake, referring to the previously dogs that don’t intimidate,” such as gold- Labrador bounded past her, retrieving tions. Five years ago, the TSA put its arbitrary selection of passengers for the en retrievers, German shorthaired point- his prize for a job well done. dogs on a new beat: passenger screen- fast lane. “These dogs are helping peo- ers, vizslas and Labradors — breeds of- Blue, a member of the Transpor- ing. More than 140 of the canines pre- ple get expedited screening.” ten found with Frisbees or sticks in their tation Security Administration’s (TSA) side over security checkpoints at over 35 The dogs typically work the line dur- mouths. The four canines at DCA, for K-9 passenger-screening team, had airports. By year’s end, the agency aims ing heavy travel days and times, such as example, are all Labradors. Blue, Rufus uncovered explosives strapped to the to more than double the number of fur- the winter holiday period, and punch and Kkirby are as black as licorice; Rriv- stranger’s back. Potential disaster di- ry participants and expand the program the clock for eight-hour shifts. To keep erso is butterscotch yellow. Other per- verted — all for a chew on a Kong. to more than 40 facilities. them on their noses, the handlers test sonal details: Blue served in Afghani- “Dogs live in a world of smell. This is The canines’ job is twofold. They the canines’ skills several times a week. stan, Rriverso is a graduate of the TSA’s their primary sense,” said Douglas Tim- seek out bomb-making materials on They hide suspicious substances in trash first class in this field, and the two dogs berlake, a TSA explosives detection ca- moving targets (fed-speak for “people”), cans, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and with double letters were named after nine handler who was overseeing the a gotcha that could require further in- all manner of bags as well as under sev- victims of 9/11. (One hint that they aren’t day’s training session. “They have the in- vestigation by TSA officials. They also eral layers of clothing. They also place your childhood snuggle buddy: the “Do nate ability to keep the public safe.” help clear passengers for PreCheck, the the dangerous matter on civilian decoys. Not Pet” sashes they wear.) MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2016 | 05 COVER STORY All the canines attend a rigorous 12-week course at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where they learn to fix on primary scents and ignore secondary odours. The dogs commu- nicate their discoveries through pas- sive response. They alert the handler of a possible suspect by approaching the person and sitting down or gazing at their master for approval — and the subsequent reward of a calorie-free treat.

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