WHEREAS, dogs in today's society deserve to be honored not only as loyal companions, but as faithful workers who serve and protect; and

WHEREAS, here at home, Hawaii is blessed with K-9 units that have made several large drug busts at our airports; preventing kilos of crystal meth from reaching our islands' people; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has more than 800 canine teams that work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to combat terrorist threats, stop the flow of illegal narcotics, and detect unreported currency, concealed humans, or smuggled agriculture products; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Military utilizes dogs to brave situations in war; finding mines, locating the enemy, and search and rescue; vital in detecting potential explosives at large scale events like the Olympics, Presidential debates, and economic conferences; and

WHEREAS, people with disabilities rely on dogs to provide living assistance as guide dogs, hearing dogs, service dogs, and in other capacities as well; and

WHEREAS, the Americans with disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990, guarantees people with disabilities the right to be accompanied by a service animal in all areas open to the general public; and

WHEREAS, search and rescue dogs can identify a suspect or missing person's scent and microscopic particles; dogs have a superior sense of smell at concentrations of nearly 100 million times lower than humans; extremely valuable in dark situations, heavy dense woods, disaster debris, and under water; and

WHEREAS, working in horrific and distressing emergency situations disaster search dogs play a key role in finding survivors and victims of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, explosions, plane and train wrecks; and

WHEREAS, in the agricultural field dogs herd and head cattle and sheep, patrolling boundaries and protecting crops; and

WHEREAS, research shows dogs in the presence of patients suffering from physical, emotional, and social conditions, aid in increasing the possibility of recovery; and

WHEREAS, dogs help to lower blood pressure, decrease serum cholesterol, relieve anxiety in people and possess the ability to sniff out cancer and detect the onset of seizures; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that this body in 2006, The Year of the Dog, honor man's best friend, a well-earned distinction and their contributions in today's society.

Report Title:

Dogs; recognizing and acknowledging accomplishments