Ford Explorer Interceptor: How A Protection Dog Stole The Debut
Meet Keegan, The Dog Trained To Prevent Car Theft
Shortly before watching Keegan, a Belgian Malinois Shepherd, pull the silk dropcloth off of the Ford Interceptor police vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show, I mentioned the PR stunt to an executive at another automotive brand. He cursed.
"That is brilliant, and it's going to get all of the television coverage," he said. "I wish I would have thought of it."
Indeed, Keegan successfully completed the unveiling without a flaw in front of a slew of flashing cameras. It was perfect. On cue, the 55-pound short-haired shepherd ran up to a knotted corner of the cloth and yanked it off, shaking its head violently while pulling. I half expected to hear a loud squeak as it pulled. It was -- and most watching agreed -- pretty cool.
Early in the day, I got a chance to sit down with Keegan to see what it's like to be the center of attention during an auto show. While we sat there, a number of people rudely interrupted us to snap pictures of the dog, often asking me to scoot out of the picture.
I found this annoying. Keegan didn't seem to mind.
Really, she never answered a single question, mostly, I think, because she's a dog and can't talk.
Her professional trainer and owner, Emily Stoddard, however, speaks both dog and English and she was much more helpful, often pausing to tell Keegan to sit back down or look at her.
"It only took about 24 hours to train her to pull off the cloth," she said. "It's basically two commands for her to do it, though it's a complicated process because you have to prepare for all of the distractions."
The 3-year-old shepherd sat during the interview with her legs shaking like a coiled spring ready to release. She never took her eyes off of Stoddard, her intense gaze always following her.
While most people mistook Keegan for a police dog because so many police dogs are Malinois, Keegan is actually a personal protection dog.
