It's a Dog's Life

An inside look at what a drug dog goes through from the Chicago Tribune doesn't sound like the cushy job it ought to be. On the surface, what could be better for a curious dog than to drive around with a State Trooper and being heroic?

Well, Indiana State Trooper Sgt. said that Hondo, one of the department's drug sniffing dogs was working a traffic stop and not only found some crack cocaine under the seat of the car, but then ate some. I suppose, for a drug dog handler, that's a risk of training your dog to find drugs.

So what's the procedure? Well, the handler, Trooper Dockery, administered hydrogen peroxide to get Hondo to vomit and then transported him to the doggy ER/vet where he was treated for a rapid heartbeat and elevated temperature. Woof.

Apparently, there was no harm done, because Hondo was back on the job the next day, busy finding a marijuana grow and a million dollars worth of cocaine in separate incidents. There was no word on how much of each substance the dog was able to eat in those cases.

So it isn't all fun and games for a drug dog. These are tools as much as they are friends and they are very effective on our roadways. Time after time an officers suspicions are confirmed when a drug dog alerts them to the presence of drugs in a vehicle. This is critical because without probable cause, which the dog provides, no search can be conducted without a driver's permission. While many citizens do not know this, drug couriers are trained to decline when the officer innocently asks, "Do you mind if I have a look around?" Without the "testimony" of a trained police drug dog, the courier might escape with just a ticket instead of years behind bars.

We should be thankful for these canine officers and appreciate the job they do. Even if occasionally they slip up and chow down on some of the evidence. I only hope that Hondo isn't up for a urine test anytime soon.