A five-year-old beagle named Murray was three years old when he was picked up as a stray by Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter.
He was not doing good and was thin, missing part of his ear, and his tail was wrapped with a band causing it to lose circulation.
Many animal lovers came to help him and he went on the training to become a member of Homeland Security’s Beagle Brigade and now he is part of it. Murray sniffs out things brought by travelers to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
”He was scared and timid and everything like that, which is probably from being stuck in a small cage or kennel and not [being allowed] to socialize or [being] paid attention to,” Tammie Jourdanais, the shelter’s director, told AJC.
”He was very eager for love and very eager for attention,” she added.
Murray had serious injuries and it made difficult for him to get adopted. The shelter decided to put out a call for help on Facebook. Two people from Alcovy Pet Rescue came and picked him up.
The group members took care of him and socialized him and later handed him over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Detector Dog Training Center.
”The dogs we’re looking for are working dogs that really need something to do,’ Kathleen Warfield, a training specialist, said. ‘They need to keep busy and be active.”
He joined Beagle Brigade with other dogs that work with Homeland Security in airports across the country and sniff out things like food and pests that could carry dangerous disease.
”Even though he’d clearly been mistreated, Murray still trusted people and was bright and just loved being around people,” Aaron Beaumont, who works at the training center, told People.
”It’s kind of like the ultimate pauper and prince story. We take these dogs out of shelters and give them a second chance, one they really love.”
Murray’s handler, an Agriculture Specialist and K-9 Enforcement Officer with Homeland Security named Amabele Gella, said: ”It’s big game of hide-and-seek for him,’ Gella told People.
‘It’s fun — he’s so full of energy — he never wants to stop finding stuff — all day long he’s sniffing bags and he gets treats in return. He makes my job look easy.”
”He does such a fabulous job. He’s saved this country millions of dollars in seizures of illegal plants and food. We’re extremely proud of him,” added Yvonne Petty, who was once of the people from the pet rescue group that saved him.
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