--- title: CIA Fires Dog Since Sniffing Bombs Wasn't Her True Calling description: CIA dog Lulu was let go from official duties after the agency discovered she just didn't have the enthusiasm for a career in bomb sniffing. canonical: https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-19T17:53:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:26.726Z og:title: CIA Fires Dog Since Sniffing Bombs Wasn't Her True Calling og:description: Rabbits or squirrels? Or bombs and explosives? Clearly, Lulu had a preference. og:url: https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5c427a5d99bdcf9/6988e29e7cdbac512fd5a8ba/black-lab-puppy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Black Labrador og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CIA Fires Dog Since Sniffing Bombs Wasn't Her True Calling twitter:description: Rabbits or squirrels? Or bombs and explosives? Clearly, Lulu had a preference. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5c427a5d99bdcf9/6988e29e7cdbac512fd5a8ba/black-lab-puppy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The CIA Fired a Dog Because Sniffing Bombs Just Wasn't Her True Calling ## Video: This Very Good Dog Emerged Alive and Happy After Wildfire [Watch (HLS stream): This Very Good Dog Emerged Alive and Happy After Wildfire](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BroRezvj.m3u8) (1:24)  _Published 2017-10-15. Jack Weaver and his brother-in-law Patrick Widen walked around police barricades, through a creek and up treacherous hilly roads to save Weaver's mother from the grim task of recovering the body of the family's beloved dog Izzy._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 19, 2017 5:53 PM UTC  Black Labrador, Canis familiaris, female puppy, looking hopefully at owner with a stick at the ready. Black Labrador, Canis familiaris, female puppy, looking hopefully at owner with a stick at the ready.Auscape—UIG via Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 19, 2017 5:53 PM UTC Lulu may be [a good girl](http://time.com/4830445/ugliest-dogs-in-world/), but she’s not a good fit for the CIA. That’s the takeaway from the latest update from the federal agency, which shared [a blog post](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/blog/2017/pupdate-a-pup-leaves-the-class.html) about one of the bomb-sniffing dogs in its latest trainee class. Lulu, a one-and-a-half-year-old black lab, has been in the training program for a few weeks. But the CIA says she just “wasn’t interested in detecting explosive odors.” “All dogs, just like most human students, have good days and bad days when learning something new,” they explained. Yet for Lulu, those “bad days” outnumbered her good ones — and they realized her heart just wasn’t in it. Initially described as “hyper and silly” with an “easygoing sweetness,” it looks like she [had other passions](http://time.com/4937297/empanada-dog-viral/) than bomb detection. “Lulu was no longer interested in searching for explosives. Even when they could motivate her with food and play to search, she was clearly not enjoying herself any longer,” the CIA wrote. Luckily, Lulu’s handler is adopting her — regardless of her disinterest in a technical career with law enforcement. “She now enjoys her days playing with his kids, sniffing out rabbits and squirrels in the backyard, and eating meals and snacks out of a dog dish,” they further note. Rabbits or squirrels? Or bombs and explosives? Clearly, Lulu had a preference. “We’ll miss Lulu, but this was the right decision for her,” they conclude. She was one of six pups in the latest training class — you can follow the [rest of the canines’ progress here.](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2017-featured-story-archive/the-recruits-meet-the-puppies.html) > [](https://twitter.com/CIA/status/920761887662452744) > [](https://twitter.com/CIA/status/920761510061858816) > [](https://twitter.com/CIA/status/920760439230877696) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/"},"headline":"The CIA Fired a Dog Because Sniffing Bombs Just Wasn't Her True Calling","datePublished":"2017-10-19T17:53:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:26.726Z","description":"CIA dog Lulu was let go from official duties after the agency discovered she just didn't have the enthusiasm for a career in bomb sniffing.","url":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5c427a5d99bdcf9/6988e29e7cdbac512fd5a8ba/black-lab-puppy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5c427a5d99bdcf9/6988e29e7cdbac512fd5a8ba/black-lab-puppy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Black Labrador","caption":"Black Labrador","creditText":"Auscape—UIG via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/","name":"The CIA Fired a Dog Because Sniffing Bombs Just Wasn't Her True Calling"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Very Good Dog Emerged Alive and Happy After Wildfire","description":"Jack Weaver and his brother-in-law Patrick Widen walked around police barricades, through a creek and up treacherous hilly roads to save Weaver's mother from the grim task of recovering the body of the family's beloved dog Izzy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/BroRezvj/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-15T15:35:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BroRezvj.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/","duration":"PT1M24S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4989533/cia-bomb-dog-fired/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```