Drug dogs are a fascinating topic.
Our
little guy, I’ll call him Buddy, to protect the innocent, : ) came
strolling into class Thursday night looking nothing like a vicious dog.
He basically fixated on his toy during the officer’s Q and A with the
class. And often jumped up for some quality time with his policeman.
Buddy
is trained in three areas. Two of those include biting. Shudder. Let’s
just say, whatever you are packing, whether it’s a pocket full of dog
treats or 3 grams of cocaine, the last thing you want to do is run. Not
only is Buddy fast, he’s smart.
The officer pointed out something else I
had never considered. Buddy’s jaw is uber powerful. Police dogs work
out their jaw muscles, and Buddy’s are ripped, or will rip a few pounds
of flesh if you get on his wrong side.
Buddy
didn’t just stare and army crawl creep toward his toy, he shed. A lot. The
officer’s right side was covered in dog hair, as was the floor where
Buddy hung out.
A
dog’s sense of smell is crazy good. Buddy can smell the tiniest residue of drugs and is
rewarded for finds with play time. Buddy is also multilingual. His
commands are in a couple different languages. Makes sense. One of my
classmates is a lawyer who thought she’d stump our dog-management officer
with some recent legal issues that popped up for a dog handler in
another state. She ended up asking a condescending question and then
blushed when the officer not only answered her question, he did so in her
legal language and subtly put her in her place. Ha. Ha.
The
second speaker of the night was “the” traffic cop. Close to
retiring, this was his last class, and he reminded me of the
movie/television stereotype of the wiry, rugged cop with the glint in
his
eye and the generous sense of humor. He walked us
through a drunk driving arrest. And the tests. Magic drunk goggles (not
to be confused with beer goggles) were produced which a few crazy
individuals donned while attempting to complete the physical tests With
the
simulated legal limit and double legal limit goggles, there were some
hilarious
results. Of course, the reality of someone driving under the same
conditions is horrifying. The highest blood alcohol he has personally
seen is 4.8. Only a true alcoholic could boast that number, it's a
deadly blood alcohol cocktail.
I
also was reminded that traffic stops can be one of the most tense and
deadly type of police work. An officer never knows what he/she will find
when dealing with a stop. If you are pulled over, one of the more
threatening things you can do is go for your glove compartment. They
prefer that you keep your hands on the wheel at 10 and 2 and wait to be
instructed to hand over your license and registration. Tinted windows
are an unknown and dangerous thing that puts a police officer on high
alert. If they can't see what's going on in the car they have to be
prepared to react to the worst case scenario.
Give police officers a
break, if they seem stressed or a bit intense when they pull you over,
be kind and respectful, their jobs are stressful and intense, even over
something as minor as catching you doing something stupid.
