To be a qualified canine in the US Secret Service Special Operations, the dog must have an even temperament and the proper drive to carry out the work. He must be physically fit to pass a challenging training course that would last for 11 weeks. Moreover, the dog must also be sociable enough to work with a team.
Marshall Mirarchi, a former USSS Special Operations Canine handler, worked with his dog named Hurricane for four years. Their line of work required them to be on the alert all the time because they never knew what could happen. Hurricane contributed a lot to their team in a protective detail.
Marshall never had a dog before, so he was unsure what to expect when he showed up during the first day of training. The barking dogs seemed to overwhelm him. When he went to the kennels, he saw a dog who stopped barking. He decided then and there that he was the dog for him.
Marshall took Hurricane out of the kennel for a walk. They got along at once and worked perfectly as a team for the rest of the training.
When they were on duty, Hurricane was seemingly in a relaxed mode. However, he would immediately know when something was wrong. On one particular night, he was instantly on the alert. Marshall noticed the change in his behavior, and he knew that something was up.
Marshall saw a person jump the fence. He was running towards the premises where President Obama and his family were. Marshall maintained his position since another team was nearer, and that handler deployed his dog. Unfortunately, the dog’s leash got caught, and he was not able to stop the intruder.
Marshall made a split decision to deploy Hurricane even if they were at a considerable distance from the intruder. Hurricane caught up with him, but the intruder tried to fight him off. He kicked and punched Hurricane to get him off of him, but Hurricane never let go. Hurricane even managed to push him back near the fence until he was apprehended.
It was hard for Marshall to see Hurricane take a beating like that. Their training did not prepare them for a perpetrator who would fight back. Marshall saw a lot of blood on him, but he was not sure how much of it came from Hurricane. Luckily, his injuries were not fatal, and he healed in time.
Marshall and Hurricane were given the Secretary’s Award for Valor and PDSA Order of Merit for performing their duties valiantly. The Canine Training staff were very proud of Hurricane, but no one was more proud of him than Marshall.
Hurricane retired in 2016. He adapted well to a life of retirement. Marshall knew that Hurricane loved his former work, but he loved being with his human, too. He got to enjoy running, hiking, swimming, and just being a dog.
Source: PDSA via YouTube