DOGS: Four Army dogs to aid Secret Service in guarding new president

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President-elect Barack Obama and family are said to be in the market for a dog to liven up the White House.

But there are already dogs in their near future: four Army dogs are being detached to the Secret Service to do crowd control duties before, during and after the Jan. 20 inauguration.

The dogs, from Fort Myer, Va., are experts in sniffing out bombs and taking down bad guys. Among them is Mike, a six-year-old Belgian Malinois.

Mike and his handler, Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Konrardy, have done presidential duty before. They spent Christmas at Camp David when President Bush was there.

--Tony Perry, San Diego