Semper Fido : Marines: Recruiters thought they sent a letter to a hot prospect. But Merlin McIntyre is a black Labrador.

Based on his strength, loyalty and willingness to take commands, the U.S. Marine Corps could not have picked a better recruit than Merlin McIntyre.

But when the Marines sent Merlin a recruitment letter, they didn’t know the prospective Leatherneck would need four boots and a daily brushing.

“He liked the idea of paid vacation, but I don’t know if he’d meet the height and weight requirements,” said Glenn McIntyre of Oxnard, owner of the 100-pound black Labrador.

McIntyre, a disabled Oxnard police officer, suspects the Marines bought a mailing list from a mail-order record club that he enrolled his specially trained dog in as a joke.

“He’d already gotten a letter from Boys Town asking for a donation,” McIntyre said. “And Publishers Clearinghouse sent him one of those notices saying he may have won $10 million.”

The Marine recruitment letter arrived Friday. It read:

“Dear Mr. McIntyre: With the right opportunity, nothing can hold you back. Because you’ve already got most of what it takes to make it.”

The letter went on to offer Merlin “outstanding benefits,” including free room, board, dental and medical care, 30 days paid vacation and “travel and adventure.” The dog could choose training in one of 36 career fields “from aviation to electronics.” He also could earn starting pay of more than $600 a month and qualify for up to $10,800 in educational benefits.

Marine recruiters at San Francisco district headquarters were somewhat astonished Wednesday.

“We tried to recruit a dog?” Sgt. David Posey said. “We could probably find a job for him, maybe with a military police canine unit, but I don’t think we’d draft him.”

McIntyre said Merlin could make a great “devil dog”--the name Germans used for Marines in World War II. He’s smart, having gone through Canine Companion training that cost $7,000, as well as being strong, a good swimmer and a beach lover.

“He can pull me, with my wife on my lap, at a full run for five blocks,” said the wheelchair-bound McIntyre, paralyzed from the ribs down after being struck on his motorcycle by a drunk driver in 1985. “He would have enjoyed hitting the sand on amphibious landings in Kuwait.”

The 6-year-old dog also is skilled at following orders, said McIntyre, now assigned as a desk officer. Merlin responds to more than 100 commands, from flicking light switches and pushing elevator buttons to retrieving a key chain from a closed drawer.

Though Merlin would be a natural for dog tags, McIntyre said he is not prepared to turn him over to Uncle Sam. The dog accompanies McIntyre almost everywhere, including during his appearance as a contestant on “Classic Concentration” in 1988.

“I think he’d hold his own in combat,” McIntyre said. “If he wasn’t already employed at this time, he might seriously consider it.”