Article: Backstory: Max to the rescue; In Rhode Island, an energetic German shepherd named Maximus and his handler, an ex-Marine who has a deft touch with dogs, team up to become one of the nation's most effective K-9 units.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)

Byline: Cynthia Anderson Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Ears back, shoulders forward, 4-year-old Maximus is trying to muscle his way to the front of a pack of 200 first responders on the downtown scene of a simulated disaster.

Other K-9 members of Task Force 1 may be distracted by all the emergency vehicles or even - no names named - fooling around, but not Maximus. He is 75 pounds of single-minded purpose. There's work to do, and he wants at it. His choke collar tightens as he pulls.

"Hold on," says his handler and housemate, Cpl. Matthew Zarrella of the Rhode Island State Police. A powerfully built ...

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