48 hours Please - Page 6

Venzosmom,
Some of the drugs have common elements, like crack and cocaine obviously.  Dogs trained for Meth usually hit on Ecstasy very quickly in training. However, we do not train our dogs to alert on prescription drugs.  Although, prescription drugs are widely abused and are a huge problem, there are people with valid prescriptions for them.  I see more illicit prescription drugs on traffic stops and on people than I see people with valid prescriptions.  I would not want to train my dog to alert on drugs that can be legally in a vehicle and people can have a legitimate reason to have.    

When my dog alerts to narcotics it is a very aggressive alert, which includes at times several large scratches on the outside of the car and torn up vehicle interiors.  He has shredded leather seats, arm rests, door panels, dash boards, glove boxes and head liners.  I would feel really bad if he did that for some Vicodin that a person had a prescription for.  

I can see training a dog used in a jail on prescription drugs, but have not seen a dog working the street trained that way.  I would love to hear more about the training and the reasoning  behind it.  If marijuana was ever legalized I would have a lot of retraining to do.   


Jim

Marijuana won't be legalized any time soon. Too much to be lost. Alcohol can be taxed. Cigarettes too. Anyone and their brother can grow multiple plants on their apartment balcony. There would be too much lost. it's a comodity that cannot be controlled if legalized.. Anyone can grow it and that is known. You ould have something on the street that is as legal as beer/liquor, but free of tax if you take the time to grow and water.

Jim,
Shirley, a golden retriever, and her handler, Officer Marc Higgins, helped arrest three people on drug charges early Thursday.
Police said Higgins was patrolling the back parking lot of Jordan Hospital when he noticed two vehicles parked in an isolated corner. He approached and smelled marijuana. Shirley did the rest
The police dog, donated to the local department by the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department, is trained to sniff out narcotics. During a subsequent search of the vehicles, the dog uncovered several ounces of marijuana in one of them.
Police charged three people in the vehicle with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. They were identified as Michael Genduso, 17, of 15 Kingfisher Lane; Justin Stevens, 17, of 134 Sandwich Road; and Ian Grant, 17, of 13 Nixon Ave.Police found a small amount of marijuana
 in the other vehicle and issued a civil infraction to an 18-year-old local woman for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.It is the second time Shirley has helped officers locate narcotics since joining the force June 4.
Thursday, June 10, the dog helped officers locate unlawful prescription narcotics hidden in a vehicle being searched in a parking lot off Pilgrim Hill Road. Police arrested three people who had been in the vehicle on simple drug possession charges. 
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http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/features/x1311834270/Shirley-s-on-the-case

Venzosmom,
That's awesome.  Good for the dog and the Officers.  It seems lately most of my time is spent searching cars for dope. 

Scarlet:

              My wife and I decided that we will take one pup from each litter that we feel is acceptable and at 2 years if he tests well for it Donate that dog to a dept. After we donated Blitz I got calls from several police agencys looking for dogs. So if we can help we will. If my next breeding goes well with Axel we will keep a pup for that.

Jim:

         When you are looking for a k-9 prospect what are you wanting to see. Blitz had been originally started to take Axels place so he had Obedience Bite work and tracking well started. The trainer did,nt like the idea that he had Schutzhund style tracking already started on him.

I must say it warms my heart to read these fabulous posts with out  running across any rude remarks! I especially was amused by Jims tale of an upolstry eating dog looking for pot!  I can just hear the laughter in the heart of the handler while the dog is chewing away the arm rests looking for drugs! Oh nothing there then chews all the tires off the rims! Oh I love them dogs so!

Ninja:

It,s all cool.