Secret Service Dogs Hailed for Stopping White House Fence Jumper

TEMPO.CO, Washington, D.C - The Secret Service may be struggling lately, but two of its dogs were celebrated Thursday as heroes.

Hurricane and Jordan, two of the guard dogs that protect the President, were hailed for helping to subdue fence-jumper Dominic Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air Md., on the White House lawn Wednesday night.

The suspect punched and kicked Hurricane and Jordan, but after being treated by a veterinarian for minor bruises, the two dogs "were both cleared and returned to duty" on Thursday, Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole Mainor said.

Adesayna, who was treated for bite wounds, was being held by U.S. marshals. For allegedly striking the dogs, he was slapped with two felony counts of assaulting a police officer.

The dogs' starring role in stopping Adesanya contrasted with last month's incident when a White House fence jumper with a knife sprinted across the same lawn, ran past armed uniformed agents and entered the mansion before he was tackled deep inside the building.

The failure to release attack dogs in that incident appeared to violate Secret Service procedures, and is now the subject of multiple investigations.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a leading congressional critic of the Secret Service, was all praise for agency's K-9s on Thursday.

"I love the dogs," he told The Washington Post. "I hated to see him punch the dogs, but obviously they could take a punch," he said, citing a video of the incident. "I was thrilled to see they’re back on duty."

Hurricane and Jordan are both Belgian Malinois, "an alert, high-energy breed, popular as both a police and military working dog", according to the American Kennel Club.

"Although sometimes mistaken for the German Shepherd dog, the Malinois is more elegant in build and lighter-boned, but does not lack for strength, agility or herding ability."

Adult males can weigh as much as 60 pounds.

The Secret Service declined to provide specifics on the two hero dogs, calling it a matter of presidential security. But the agency's website notes that the service's K-9 Unit has 75 dogs that receive 20 weeks of training each at a 500-acre facility in Laurel, Md.

While some dogs are trained as bomb sniffers, the only responsibility of the White House dogs is to subdue intruders.

The animals live with their handlers and retire when they are about 10 years old.

INTAN MAHARANI | DAILY NEWS