Six new troopers have joined the State Patrol and their specialty is sniffing out drugs and the criminal activity that often comes with them.
On Tuesday, the patrol welcomed the police dogs to the force and put on a demonstration to show how deft they are at hunting for and locating illegal substances.
"The dogs will find anything," said trooper Aaron Myren, who is the handler for one of the new K-9s, Joni, a 19-month-old Belgian Malinois.
And they have. Through Sept. 30, the patrol's team of narcotic-detecting dogs has uncovered 71 pounds of methamphetamine, 56 pounds of cocaine powder, more than 45,500 fentanyl pills and other substances such as psilocybin, heroin and Ecstasy. The discoveries, which happen primarily during traffic stops, also allowed troopers to seize more than $348,000 in cash, the Department of Public Safety said.
The dogs also are used to assist federal and local agencies.
The patrol deployed its first drug-sniffing K-9 in 1993 and expanded the force to 15 in 1999. Most of the dogs with "high drive hunt" are imported from Europe when they are about a year old. They are easier to train at that age, said Sgt. Chad Mills. And they don't understand English.
That is important because "people can't talk to our dogs" and interrupt or distract them from their work, Mills said.
Once stateside, the dogs go through an intense three to four months of training before hitting the streets. That includes bonding with their handlers, learning commands and learning to detect odors that reveal illegal drugs, as opposed to other smells such as food and gasoline. Over time, the police dogs have led law enforcement to drugs motorists stashed in car batteries, gas tanks and tires and likely would have missed, Mills said.
