Canine Interventions
Law enforcement dogs sniff out illicit prescription narcotics in Ohio County
The two newest members of Ohio's
Warren County Sheriff's Office and the county's Drug Task
Force are ready to serve and protect.
Tango, an 18-month-old German
shepherd, is a patrol canine who recently
received his certification in tracking,
area and building searches for people,
evidence recovery, narcotic odors, bite
work, obedience, handler protection,
agility courses and patrol routes. The
certification program for Tango took
320 hours.
Kash, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois,
received certification training for
narcotic odors, currency odors, 12 of
the most commonly abused prescription
drug odors—including Xanax,
Oxycontin and Vicodin—agility courses
and obedience. He is believed to be
the only law enforcement drug dog in
the country who can detect prescription
drugs in pill and pure form and U.S.
currency. He assists the sheriff's office
with consent searches and executing
search warrants. The certification program
for Kash took 120 hours.
In addition to Tango and Kash, Kilo,
a Labrador, has been serving Warren
County for three years as a narcotics
dog. He has helped seize hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of assets.
Unique Challenges Call For
Unique Abilities
The rate of prescription drug abuse
is rising as people are switching from
street drugs to easily available and accessible
pharmaceutical drugs. Rates of
pharmaceutical drug abuse exceed that
of all other drugs except marijuana.
In Ohio, there is an epidemic of prescription
drug overdoses. Data shows
the number of drug-overdose deaths in
Ohio surpasses motor-vehicle deaths.
Some of the most commonly abused
brands of prescription drugs are Oxycontin,
Vicodin, Percocet, Tylenol with
Codeine No. 3, Valium and Xanax.
Southern Ohio has four times the prescription
drug distribution rate compared
to Northern Ohio.
Prescription drug abuse creates
unique challenges for law enforcement
and public health agencies, which is
why a pharmaceutical-sniffing police
dog is so valuable in the field. A dog's
sense of smell is almost 50 times more
sensitive than a human's.
Unleashed
Tango has already been used in a few
cases.
"On the second shift we worked, we
were called to a vehicle stop and asked to
walk around the car," said Deputy Kelly
Hammonds, Tango's handler. "Tango
alerted on the vehicle, and we found
marijuana and marijuana pipes inside."
Kash has not yet worked on any cases,
but he will be an asset for the county.
"We have a high amount of prescription
pill trafficking in Ohio," said
Deputy Brian Lewis, Kash and Kilo's
handler. "Since pills are small, suspects
can hide a large amount of them in a
small area. Kash will hopefully catch or
deter suspects from doing this."
Each of the dogs cost between $5,000
to $8,000 and were paid for through asset
forfeiture and grants from the National
Association of Drug Diversion
Investigators, a non-profit organization
that facilitates cooperation between law
enforcement, healthcare professionals,
state regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical
manufacturers in the prevention
and investigation of prescription
drug diversion. No county funds were
used to purchase the dogs. Each of the
dogs' annual expenses cost $600, and
a local veterinarian offers free healthcare
services.
"There is no question that the addition
of these two canines will be a
significant boost to Warren County law
enforcement and the citizens," Commander
John Burke said. "In Tango's
case, the sheriff's office now has a canine
who can track suspects, lost kids
and senior citizens. Tango has an excellent
tracking sense and will do well in
critical situations. He also is a patrol
dog, also something new to the sheriff's
office, and will be able to search buildings
and become aggressive on command
when a situation arises to protect
his handler or other officers."
Intensive Training
Police dog training involves positive
reinforcement and game play. Since
prescription drug training for law enforcement
canines is not yet standard,
special procedures were developed for
Kash. Trained by Deputy Brian Lewis
with assistance from Hill's Compounding
Pharmacy, a Milford, Ohio, company
specializing in the preparation of
customized medications to meet specific
needs, Kash sits when he identifies an
odor he was trained to detect. If he is
correct, he is rewarded with his favorite
toy, which is a rubber tube.
Due to Kash's unique abilities, he is
available to serve all police agencies in
the region.
"Certification is crucial in police canines;
it's not just for a piece of paper,
but an unbiased confirmation of their
weeks of work with these dogs," Burke
said. "Training does not stop after confi
rmation. These deputies have a formal
training session every Wednesday, but
in actuality, they are involved in ongoing
training and reinforcement of their
dogs every day. In addition, they have
24/7 care of the animals, who live with
them and their families."
When the dogs are off duty, they
enjoy being a part of the deputies'
families. Their favorite pasttime is
playing fetch.
"Tango loves to play with the kids
and has already become very protective
of the family, especially our youngest
children," Hammonds said. "He will
lay on the floor and let them climb all
over him."
"Kash is a very social dog and loves
to be right next to me," Lewis said. "He
gets along well with the two other dogs
I have."