Illegal drug smuggling and supply in this country has skyrocketed with our schools a fresh target point for dealers to infiltrate. Drug dealers and smugglers have become very inventive when finding ways to hide drugs; they seal drugs inside furniture, vacuum-pack them in cans, stuff them into fruit, pepper, coffee and even submerge them in automobile gas tanks.
Sniffing dogs (and man’s best friend) are our biggest allies in the escalating fight against illegal drugs and protecting our children. The percentage of the dog’s brain devoted to analyzing smells is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It’s been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans can.
http://liarcatchers.com/drugdogsweeps.html
Drug dogs are trained to find illegal drugs, whether it’s large or small amounts. Dogs really have no idea they are providing a valuable service by searching out drugs; instead dogs think they’re looking for their favorite toy.
It’s common knowledge in the animal world that dogs love to play tug-of-war with a towel. A handler plays with the dog and a scent-free towel as a fun toy; next a bag of marijuana (or narcotics) is rolled up inside the towel. After playing for a while, the dog connects the smell of marijuana with the smell of his favorite new toy. The handler then hides the towel, with the drugs, in various places and the dog sniffs it out alerting the handler.
Drug Free Schools
Every parent wants their child to go to school to learn, and not worry about a child being confronted with drugs and pushers. Securing your child’s safety from drugs requires a drug free school. First, school officials must decide whether to use drug dogs at all, next they decide whether to use police dogs or hire a private company.
Random searches around school lockers and cars in parking lots by drug sniffing dogs can be a very effective deterrent, sending a strong message that drugs won’t be tolerated at school. If requested, searches in classrooms and other areas can be checked. A favorite breed that most private companies chose is the Golden Retriever; they don’t appear so intimidating and threatening to kids.
For more information on security and drug dogs visit: www.flhsmv.gov and www.napwda.com.
