Reply #46: of course not

[BJW]

While I do not know, and neither could Snopes, unless it had an inside informant at the Navy, whether their dolphins are loose in the Gulf specifically because of Katrina, I do know, in fact, that yes, the Navy has been engaged for a number of years in actively training dolphins to do a variety of tasks, including "guard dog" type assassinations.

What I take specific issue with is the odd and unnecessarily broad snark at the end of the piece:

"The U.S. Navy does employ trained dolphins for tasks such as detecting and marking mines, but even such intelligent creatures as dolphins aren't too good at the advanced tasks of distinguishing friend from foe or ordinary scuba divers from terrorists. Killer dolphins are likely to be found only in the realm of fiction and overactive imaginations."

The key to debunking any rumor is the ability to verify or discredit it via leg work, phone calls and contacts. If goverment info is needed to establish the truth or falsity, and if the government has a vested interest in not releasing certain sensitive information, well then it's a given that it would be next to impossible for Snopes to have sufficient information to make a factual determination.