The US sent bomb-sniffing dogs to Jordan. Now they're dying from poor treatment

(CNN) Bomb-sniffing dogs sent from the United States to its Middle Eastern ally Jordan are falling ill and dying due to poor treatment and negligence, a federal investigation has found.

A year-long evaluation by inspectors at the State Department found that at least 10 such dogs in Jordan died between 2008 and 2016 from medical problems. Even those who survive are suffering from "unhealthy conditions," such as inadequate kennels, poor sanitation, and overwork.

Photos in the report, published last week, show emaciated dogs with ribs protruding from their sides. Their nails are overgrown, and their ears are home to ticks so engorged they have likely been feasting on the dogs for days. In some facilities, there weren't any dog bowls -- the handlers fed the dogs by simply throwing food on the floor.

An underweight bomb-sniffing dog in Jordan, which had been sent from the US under the Explosive Detection Canine Program.

For more than 20 years, the US has sent bomb-sniffing and specially trained dogs to partner nations under an anti terrorism assistance program. Despite spending "millions of dollars" training and dispatching the dogs, State Department officials failed to ensure their health and welfare, said the report, which was launched after a hotline complaint about the dogs' treatment.

According to the report, the State Department's loose regulation and lack of concrete policies were a big factor in the dogs' mistreatment. The State Department couldn't provide investigators detailed information for the dogs in other partner countries besides Jordan, and there often aren't any written agreements with the countries outlining how to care for the dogs.