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BUSTED! A Drug Dog's Sense of Humor

© Joy Butler

I remember Chance as a somewhat chunky, slightly hyper, and sometimes goofy yellow Labrador. The last I heard of him he was retired from drug work and living the "pet life" somewhere out in California, but at one time he worked for friends of mine who operate a canine contraband detection service.

Trained to sniff out illicit drugs and explosives, Chance could search a whole school in a matter of minutes. With a cue from his handler of "Check here, Chance, check here," he'd be off down the halls at a good pace, "whuffing" the air. With just a "glance" of his nose he'd know if any of the lockers or vehicles harbored illegal drugs or gunpowder.

Watching him work one day, I was totally amazed when he detected the tiny amount of gunpowder left on two spent shells, just by sniffing the outside of the locked up truck where they were. The teenaged driver nervously explained that the pickup belonged to his father who had taken it hunting over the weekend. In another incident, Chance detected two marijuana seeds inside the ashtray of another locked up car. Now THAT'S A NOSE!

He would alert to his finds by sitting. Some dogs are trained to paw at the site but, for obvious reasons, explosives dogs are trained to simply sit. Chance was always rewarded with a moment's play of tugging on a stuffed toy or a couple of tosses of a tennis ball. He loved finding contraband because he thrilled to these moments of play. For an energetic pup like Chance, it was all just a fun game!

To keep him sharp between searches, his handlers practiced him almost daily. He trained in clean areas as well as in baited areas. One day I watched them work him in several baited areas, then decide he needed to search a clean area. I volunteered my Chevy van.

My friend led him out to the parking lot and gave the cue, "Check here, Chance, check here!"

He proceeded around my van, with nose twitching. When he reached the crack where the driver's door closes, he promptly sat. Sharon ignored the signal and started him again. As he approached the driver's door, he again, sat!

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. What could this highly trained dog have possibly found in my van?! How in the world had it gotten there?! How would I explain to Sharon?!

My face felt hot, "Sharon, did he just alert?"