TORONTO STAR, SATURDAY MAR.4TH
Neville's tales is a cross-continent intrigue stamped with a silver badge of courage.
After escaping a death sentence north of Toronto, he now deals with danger as a bomb sniffing cop in the American war on terrorism.
And Neville's tail wags so much he's earned the nickname Wiggles.
"He's a dog of destiny", says Trooper Dave Dixon of the Washington State Patrol, who leads the tan pit bull around Seattle's docks to search cars boarding the ferries that cross Puget Sound.
"I think it is tragic that his owner abandoned him. He's missing out on a wonderful dog."
A year ago, Neville was picked up as a stray in Stouffville. Although his owner was found, he refused to claim him because of tough new laws restricting pit bulls in Ontario, so Neville was to be put down like so many others of his breed in the past year.
But staff at a Georgian animal shelter saw something in his eyes that made them believe he was destined for greater things. That led him to Bullies In Need, which finds foster care for pit bulls nobody wants.
"People think they're monsters," says Sharon Hewitt, a diector of the Toronto group. "We know they are exceptional dogs, but we had no idea that Neville would do this well. From all accounts, he was amazing and a lot of very caring people helped him all along the way."
Hewitt said provincal legislation forces the group to seek homes outside the province. "Ontario is no longer a safe place for these breeds," she says. "We don't want these dogs to be muzzled for the rest of their lives."
So after a month in limbo here, Neville was shipped to a shelter in Lansing, Michigan, which arranged another foster home on the west coast of the United States. There he caught the eye of Lawdogs, an organization in the state capital at Olympia that recommends dogs for law enforcement.
That earned him a trip to Washington's canine training academy in Shelton and a rendevous with Dave Dixon, who was coming off 17 years cruising state highways.
"There were 13 dogs that all the troopers had to work with, but Neville kinda picked me," he recalls. "He took a shine to me and I took a shine to him."
Since last August, Dixon and his four-legged partner have worked the ferry docks and terminals, sniffing out firearms and ammunition on cars about to board the boats. They've also responded to bomb threats at Seattle-area buildings.
Off duty, Neville lives at home with Dixon, 42, his wife and Grumpy and Spencer, their two other dogs.
"He's easy going," Dixon says. "He doesn't bark, he doesn't shed, he doesn't stink. He's the perfect dog."
High praise for a pit bull nobody wanted here. But leave the last word to Diane Jessup, founder of Lawdogs.
"Thanks to Ontario, Canada for kicking out such an awesome dog!" she posts on the group's website. "Neville is now protecting Homeland Security for America. I'd say the joke is on them"
