Dog dropped by CIA after refusing to sniff out explosives

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The CIA announced a member of its "puppy class" has gone into early retirement after she failed to show interest in explosive detection as a career.

The CIA announced Wednesday on Twitter that 1-1/2-year-old Lulu was leaving the explosive detection program after handlers determined she was not enjoying her career path.

"A few weeks into training, Lulu began to show signs that she wasn't interested in detecting explosive odors," the CIA said in a news release. "All dogs, just like most human students, have good days and bad days when learning something new. The same is true during our puppy classes. A pup might begin acting lazy, guessing where the odors are, or just showing a general disregard for whatever is being taught at the moment. Usually, it lasts for a day, maybe two."

The CIA tweeted that Lulu's disinterest persisted.

"Lulu wasn't interested in searching for explosives," the agency said. "Even when motivated [with] food & play, she was clearly no longer enjoying herself."

The agency said the black Labrador was adopted by her handler and now lives a happy life with the family and a canine companion.

"Our trainers' top concern is the physical and mental well-being of our dogs, so they made the extremely difficult decision to do what's best for Lulu and drop her from the program," the CIA said.