‘Cyber Dog’ That Specializes in Sniffing Out Electronics for FBI Given Hero’s Sendoff

The FBI recently celebrated the retirement of one of the agency’s most prolific agents — a keen canine that has the unique ability to sniff out electronics.The bureau’s field office at Newark, New Jersey, recently gave a hero’s sendoff to Iris the Cyber Dog, posting a touching tribute on social media showing the pup in action. Iris recently retired from her K-9 duties following major surgery.Iris was until recently one of the only dogs in the world trained for electronic detections, and during her career the 10-year-old pooch has found an astounding 20,000 pieces of evidence in an average of nearly 100 searches per year. One of her most notable finds was during one of her first cases in 2016, when she searched the home of Ahmad Khan Rahimi, who was convicted in a Manhattan federal court for setting off a series of bombs he planted in the Chelsea neighborhood. Iris found a buried cellphone that eventually became a key piece of evidence in Mr. Rahimi’s trial.“We had been working for a little bit in the house but didn’t find much. I was in the backyard where the Evidence Response Team had set up a tent. Iris was doing loops in the grass. I thought she had to go to the bathroom — and thought, ‘Great she’s going to go right next to the ERT tent,’” her handler, Special Agent Jeff Calandra, recalled in a press release announcing Iris’s retirement. “When I tugged her leash so I could take her for a walk, she resisted. After a few times of that, I finally just let her go. She started digging, and digging, and digging. Then she sat.” “She had found a cellphone Rahimi used to test detonating his bombs.”Iris’s super sense of smell has led her and her handler across the country to assist in investigations. She’s also searched offices at other government agencies and ambassadors. The determined dog has crawled her way through tight spaces and behind walls while on the hunt. She’s also flown on the bureau’s G-5 jet and taken rides in speedboats.While she’s not on the clock, Iris lives with Mr. Calandra, who says he has always treated her like a work asset.“My family can’t feed her or reward her because then she won’t respond to my commands,” he said. “We also have to keep her away from electronics in our house — her brain wouldn’t shut off.”Iris is being forced into retirement after undergoing surgery to remove one of her front legs after a cancerous mass was found. The amputation was done to prevent the cancer from spreading.During a routine search operation, Mr. Calandra spotted that Iris had developed an unusual gait. He initially believed that her unsteady movement was from exhaustion. A round of anti-inflammatory medication appeared to provide temporary relief. However, when the irregular walking pattern returned, he brought his four-legged partner to a veterinary clinic, which made the diagnosis.Iris has been given a prosthetic limb and is learning how to move on it. Now that she’s retired, Mr. Calandra says her daily routine has changed for the most part. “She’s had pizza for the first time and gets to nap a lot more,” he said. “But she won’t eat from a dog bowl — she just doesn’t know how.”“I gave her food in a bowl, and she just laid her head down next to it and stared at me. So, we still hand-feed her.”

‘Cyber Dog’ That Specializes in Sniffing Out Electronics for FBI Given Hero’s Sendoff

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