Shelter dogs would provide therapy for distressed border agents under new bipartisan push

Stray dogs surviving successful shelters could beryllium fixed a changeable astatine a caller beingness providing comfortableness to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers nether a caller bipartisan proposal.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, introduced a measure this week to found a aviator programme allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to follow the animals from section shelters and bid them to beryllium therapy dogs for Border Patrol personnel. 

It would physique connected the existing Canine Support Program established by CBP aboriginal past twelvemonth successful the look of mounting concerns astir agents' intelligence wellness arsenic they woody with the ongoing borderline crisis.

"These men and women enactment agelong hours year-round and face enormous challenges head-on," Gonzales said successful a property release. "By improving entree to canine therapy support, this authorities volition springiness our instrumentality enforcement 1 much instrumentality to amended intelligence wellness outcomes astatine CBP."

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A caller bipartisan House measure would make a programme for structure dogs to go therapy animals. (Getty Images)

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., 1 of the bill's archetypal co-sponsors, said the existing programme "has shown committedness to summation unit morale and let them to amended present connected their committedness to support our homeland safe."

"This is simply a beardown measurement successful the close absorption – not conscionable for those serving, but the communities they serve, too," helium said.

In summation to aiding borderline agents, the connection could besides perchance person a affirmative effect connected the country's carnal shelters, which person struggled with overcrowding successful the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and arsenic a increasing fig of Americans conflict to marque ends conscionable for themselves, fto unsocial their pets.

"By facilitating the adoption of therapy dogs from section shelters, we're not lone providing indispensable affectional enactment for our CBP workforce but besides offering a loving location to structure dogs," said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., different of the bill's co-sponsors.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

A radical of implicit 100 migrants effort to participate the U.S. illegally by rushing the border, March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

Concerns astir the intelligence wellness of Border Patrol officers reached the nationalist signifier amid an alarming spike successful the fig of suicides the section has seen successful caller years.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, different of the bill's co-sponsors, spoke with Fox News Digital astir the contented during a legislature delegation travel to the McAllen, Texas, assemblage of the U.S.-Mexico borderline earlier this year.

"Every clip I travel down here, it gets worse; the deficiency of detention space, the quality calamity you spot here; what the Border Patrol has to woody with each day, time successful and time out, looking astatine these migrants that are pouring in; this consciousness of hopelessness, that it won't stop," the Texas Republican said successful January.

"Profoundly, I interest astir the intelligence wellness of our Border Patrol. The termination complaint is going up. They don't person the due resources."

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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul sounded the alarm connected Border Patrol agents' intelligence wellness successful a January Fox News Digital interview.

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Seventeen CBP agents died by termination successful 2022 alone, Chris Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Congress successful March 2023. That’s the highest fig since CBP began tracking it successful 2007. There were 19,357 CPB agents connected the occupation successful 2022.

Since then, the fig of illegal borderline crossings has continued to ascent to caller highs, portion CBP agents are struggling with replenishing a dwindling workforce.