The 25-pound dog was kicked ‘with sufficient force’ to lift him off the ground, according to CBP. The agency told National Post he was recovering and was expected to be back at work next week
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A 70-year-old man has been deported from the United States after kicking a U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog at an airport in the Washington, D.C. area on Tuesday.
CBP agriculture detector dog Freddie, a five-year-old beagle, and his handler were inspecting bags during a routine screening after a flight landed at the Dulles International Airport from Cairo, Egypt.
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Freddie alerted his handler to a suitcase belonging to the 70-year-old, when the man “violently” kicked the animal “with sufficient force to lift the 25-pound beagle off the ground,” authorities said Thursday. Officers handcuffed him and turned him over to Homeland Security Investigations agents.
The veterinarian who examined Freddie determined the beagle had contusions to his right forward rib area. CBP Public Affairs Officer Steve Sapp told National Post in an emailed statement that Freddie is still recovering.
The vet said he needed rest and prescribed low dose pain medication, said Sapp, adding that the beagle should be back to work in a week.
Authorities searched the man’s baggage and said they found more than 100 pounds of food products, including 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of eggplant, cucumbers and bell peppers, two pounds of corn seeds and one pound of herbs. The items, which are on the prohibited list, were seized, per the agency.
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The man appeared before the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia and pled guilty to harming animals used in law enforcement. He was credited with time served, ordered to pay the veterinarian bill and to report to CBP to be deported.
According to court documents obtained by CBS News, the veterinarian fee amounted to US$840.
He left the U.S. on a flight to Egypt at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over one hundred pounds of undeclared and prohibited agriculture products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenseless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. Christine Waugh.
She added that Freddie was “just doing his job.”
A video of Freddie working with his handler was posted on the CBP’s Facebook page in March.
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Freddie, who is part of CBP’s Beagles Brigade, helps screen passengers and cargo “to prevent the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal disease from entering the U.S.,” the CBP said.
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