A historical tribute · 1986–1987
The Original Four
Duko • Benno • Barco • Rocky
Four dogs and four handlers proved what a trained detection team could do—and began the modern U.S. Border Patrol Canine Program.
Portraits of the original four canines
The original four formed the U.S. Border Patrol’s first modern canine detection class—trained in the United States to locate concealed people and detect narcotics.
The beginning
A pilot that became a program.
In 1986, rising concealed-human smuggling and narcotics seizures led Border Patrol leadership to authorize a four-team pilot program.
Duko, Benno, Barco and Rocky were trained to locate concealed people and detect the odors of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Official CBP histories identify the original class as three Belgian Malinois and one Belgian Laekenois.
On April 18, 1987, the four teams entered duty. During their first five months, CBP records that they accounted for numerous apprehensions and more than $150 million in seized narcotics. By the end of 1988, the Border Patrol had added approximately 75 certified canine teams.
Four names remembered
Their work established the standard.
Duko
Duko served in the Laredo area. Contemporary reporting identifies Randy Salazar as his handler in 1988; Joel Martinez also handled Duko during his service. In 2018, Laredo dedicated Duko’s Dog Park at North Central Park in his honor.
Benno
Official histories remember him as Benno, although his studio portrait is signed “Beno.” Alongside the other original teams, his work demonstrated how quickly trained detection dogs could transform checkpoint and line operations.
Barco
Assigned with Agent Thomas W. Slowinski at the Falfurrias Station, Barco became one of the program’s best-known early dogs. The team also responded to the 1988 department-store collapse in Brownsville, assisting the search-and-rescue operation recognized by a Newton–Azrak Award.
Rocky
Rocky worked in South Texas and appeared with Barco in contemporary coverage of the new canine program. His “I CARE…” portrait became part of the program’s public-awareness record.
Success carried risk
Effective enough to become targets.
By 1988, contemporary reports described a $30,000 contract placed on several of the dogs. Accounts differed on exactly which dogs were named: reporting identified Rocky and Barco in March, and Barco, Duko and Rocky in May.
Barco was fitted for a protective vest, though his handler questioned whether a working dog could safely carry body armor in the South Texas heat. The dogs were also secured overnight and trained to refuse food from anyone other than their handlers.
The El Paso legacy
From four teams to a national academy.
The success of the original teams led the Border Patrol to establish consistent training and certification standards of its own. El Paso was selected for its central location along the southern border and its year-round training climate.
A facility charter was written in 1991. In March 1993, the first instructor course began at the U.S. Border Patrol National Canine Facility on Biggs Army Air Field—today the Border Patrol Canine Academy / Canine Center El Paso.
What began with four dogs and four handlers grew into the nation’s largest law-enforcement canine program.
Preserving the record
History deserves careful hands.
El Paso Graphics Company has had the privilege of restoring, printing, matting, framing and installing historical photographs and displays for the U.S. Border Patrol at Canine Center El Paso. This independent tribute continues that work: preserving the names, images and documented service of the original teams—and honoring the agents, instructors and canines who followed them.
Editorial note: This is an independently researched historical tribute published by El Paso Graphics Company. It is not an official DHS, CBP or U.S. Border Patrol publication and does not imply agency endorsement.
Documentation
Principal sources.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “Canine Centers”
- CBP Frontline, Spring 2008, “CBP’s Amazing Canines Discover Hidden Humans”
- CBP Frontline, Winter 2010, “Securing the Border by a Nose”
- CBP, “Unveiling Ceremony for Duko’s Dog Park,” May 8, 2018
- The Washington Post, “U.S. Border Patrol Dogging Smugglers,” May 11, 1988
- TIME, “Texas: The Border’s Nosy Narcs,” March 21, 1988
Facts are attributed where surviving accounts differ. Additional primary records will be incorporated as they are located and verified.