[originaltext] The dog has often been an unselfish friend to man. It is alwa

The dog has often been an unselfish friend to man. It is always grateful to its master. It helps man in many ways. Certain breeds of dogs are used in criminal investigations. They are trained to sniff out drugs and bombs. They help police to catch criminals. Some dogs are trained to lead blind people.
    The dogs that help in criminal investigations are trained at a school called the Military Dog Studies branch of the US Air Force in Lackland, Texas, The dogs to be trained are selected by an air force team. This team visits large cities across the country to buy the dogs. They may buy dogs from private citizens for up to $750 each. Some citizens freely give their dogs. The dogs selected must be healthy, brave and aggressive. They must be able to fight back if they are attacked. The dogs chosen are between the ages of one and three. They are given a medical examination when they arrive at the school. Their physical examination includes X-rays and heart tests. The trainee dogs undergo the first stage of training when they arrive in Lackland. This is an 11-week course for patrol duty. After this course, the best dogs are selected to go on another 9-week course. They learn drag-sniffing or bomb-sniffing. After this course, the dogs axe ready for their jobs in the cities or on air force bases.
    The training given to a drag-sniffing dog is different from that given to a bomb-sniffing dog. A drag-sniffing dog is trained to scratch and dig for the drugs when he sniffs them. A bomb-sniffing dog sits down when he finds a bomb. That is the alert for hidden explosives.